


Coast of Dreams

by Mexxi3003



Series: of world saving and heart stealing [3]
Category: The Musketeers (2014)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, F/M, Friendship, Heart Break, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-06-26 23:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 79,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15673164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mexxi3003/pseuds/Mexxi3003
Summary: Story of the Things We do for Love continues. Our four musketeers and the Ladies are travelling to the Côte d'Azur to do louis' Business and to Recover from the events in Paris. But the Coast has surprises for them in Store. Intrigues and danger follow them. Hot nights, wild days and flying bullets.





	1. the calm after the storm

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, guys, season three is starting. And like always every third day will be a new chapter online. For the new ones, hello there, so glad you found your way to this story. Don’t worry, you can read it now, or you will start with season one “I can’t breathe without you” (second “The things we do for love”) but you don’t have to. 
> 
> “Coast of dreams” will be slighty different, because we will leave Paris and Fontainbleau for a while. Don’t worry, at the new destination will be enough love, crime, action, hotness, romantic and everything else. Also a little advertisement for my Tumblr channel (nickname: Mexxi3003) I posting on Tumblr are the pictures too, plus I’m always blogging when there is a new chapter and linking it.   
> But now, have fun while you read it. And tell me how you liked it.   
> [Annes Outfit](https://pin.it/o4wb7b2efa57gv)  
> [Constance Outfit](https://pin.it/aijtnqe5rcqa5d)

Chapter 1: 

Regular footsteps sounded in the empty hospital corridor. A young woman walked straight towards a specific room, head held high. The room was on the third floor of the hospital, in the internal medicine ward. Her brown high heels sounded overly loud in the otherwise quiet area.

Although it was already 10 a.m., only a handful of nurses, patients and visitors were around. When she stood in front of the right door, the brunette woman straightened her blue wraparound skirt and the champagne-colored silk blouse and tightened the knot of the belt around her waist. Then she opened the door and stepped into the room. It was a double room, but the first bed was unoccupied. She went straight past it to the second one, where a young man was sleeping. A chair beside his bed suggested frequent visitors.  
The woman sat down in the chair, placing her brown clutch decorated with a small lighter bow in her lap. The man looked so peaceful lying in the bed. His face was completely relaxed. She gently pushed   
a strand of hair out of his face and then took one of his hands in hers.

Apparently he hadn't been sleeping too deeply, because the touch woke him up and he slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to get used to the light in the room. He immediately recognized who had woken him, smiled at her and raised her hand to his mouth. She couldn't help smiling back at him. He breathed a gentle kiss on her small hand and rested it on his chest, close to the place that two weeks ago had almost ended his life. Today all that remained was a large bandage. Neither the man nor the woman sitting by his side said anything. They just enjoyed the moment in silence, looking deep into each other's eyes, glad that they were still together.

Almost an hour passed, before their precious moment was broken by a doctor entering the room. "Ah, Madame Bonancieux, I had a feeling, you would be here again," he said, smiling at her. His patient, who was still confined to the bed, didn't seem to like it. 

"Do you have good news for us, Doc?" Constance asked.   
"Of course. I spoke to your local physician, D'Artagnan, if you take it easy for a while and make sure that the wounds are checked daily, you can go home tomorrow."

**********************************

At Chateau Fontainebleau, high heels clacked through the corridors of the venerable old building. The wearer, a young blonde woman, was busy checking her cellphone, answering e-mails while walking. The servants who encountered her, stepped aside and let her pass, partly out of courtesy and partly because her eyes were fixed on her phone, so that she wasn't really aware of her surroundings. Due to the high temperatures, which by now had found their way inside even the thick walls of the chateau, she wore a salmon colored cocktail dress decorated with ornaments. So as not to show too much skin for her meeting, she had also chosen a champagne colored blazer. Her shoes were of a similar color, while her handbag, which held a tablet with the most important data, matched the color of her dress.

She went through the door into the council room, where a number of employees were seated at various tables, working on their laptops. One of the men noticed her and came over.

"Ah, Anne, I hope the meeting at the bank was successful. We acquired some property in Paris and digitized the accounts. You'll find an exposé of the current overseas companies at your desk."

"Thanks, Pascal, I'll look at it immediately." Anne took a seat towards the back of the room, facing the window. She took the tablet out of her back and set it up, then she opened the exposé and looked at the documents. Two weeks had passed since the incident with Marmion. The bodyguards had been able to prevent any more killing. She and Constance had been saved by Aramis and had not been hurt. 

At least not physically. However, she was still in shock and glad, that Aramis spent almost every night with her, so she didn't have to be alone, since she suffered from frequent nightmares. Now she buried herself in her work. Constance had understood, she had done the same. When she wasn't with D'Artagnan at the hospital, she was at the desk next to Anne, and together they took Louis's business empire to new heights.

A lot had happened in the last two weeks, but Anne's thoughts returned back to the task at hand. She had to report their success and the current situation to Louis, who had mostly withdrawn from business matters. However, he was still CEO and in most cases the only authorized representative. 

She collected the necessary documents and her tablet and left the room to go to Louis. She found him on the sofa in his sitting room, still in his pajamas and a bathrobe. 

"Anne, how is the busy bee?" he asked, not looking up from the newspaper he was reading. On a small table beside him, a cup of coffee was steaming. 

"Louis, nice to see you. I need you to sign some documents and I would like to give you an update," she said.

"Just put the documents on the table over there and I'll sign them. As for the update, I don't need it, I trust you to do the right thing." He looked up for a moment, but he couldn't meet her eyes for long.   
Anne saw, what she had already seen two weeks ago. Out of all of them, Louis was affected the most. He blamed himself for all the deaths and tried to distract himself with women, drugs and alcohol. In first days, she had found him completely stoned in the bathroom and had notified Treville immediately, who had taken the necessary measures. The next day, Louis had been hungover, but with a halfway clear head again and the whole incident had been kept so secret that only she and Treville knew about it. In the following days, Louis respected his limits, but he withdrew from all business matters and spent most of the time in his rooms, hardly ever seen anymore in the corridors of the chateau or in Fontainebleau. Things couldn't go on like this any longer, and Anne had an idea, how Louis could regain his former strength. She sat down beside him on the sofa, not minding that he paid more attention to the newspaper than to her. 

"I have news from Feron. Our prospective projects at the Cote D'Azur are in the final preparation phase, and we can begin realizing them soon. However, Feron requests the presence of both of us."  
"I think my esteemed brother will be able to finish things on his own. We're only opening a branch office there, the headquarters will stay at Fontainebleau. Paris is still the place where deals are made."

"Yes, but I think your presence will speed up the process and show the local people your appreciation. And I could get a clearer picture of the situation at site," Anne argued.  
Louis put down the newspaper, but he still wasn't looking at her. "Anne, I don't think my presence will have any positive effect."

"No, that's not true." Anne put her hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Louis, we have been the victims of a madman. Please, you have to try to come to terms with this. And I think a trip like this would help all of us with that."

"How could a business trip help us?"

"Well, we could combine business with pleasure. We'll build up a network, admire Feron's work and help him where necessary, but on the whole we'll just take a vacation. I think it will be good for all of us to leave the chateau behind for a couple of days."

Louis thought about it. Anne felt that she had managed to get through to him somehow and she didn't want to pressure him any further. "Just think about it, we can discuss it tomorrow." She stood up and left the room, leaving Louis on the sofa, staring thoughtfully into the air.

*****************************************

As every Monday, Treville and Athos had their weekly briefing. Athos was currently summarizing the measures that had already been implemented after the hostage situation to prevent further incidents. "We increased the number of guards. All servants who have even the slightest connection to Marmion have been laid off with severance payment."

Treville nodded. He trusted Athos to know what needed to be done, when, and how. He hadn't chosen the man as his second-in-command for nothing. 

"Nathan' probation isn't over for some time yet, but I think especially in the current situation we should consider our demand for competent employees. He has proven to be loyal more than once." Athos had taken a liking to the young man.

"But he doesn't exactly fit our profile for the security team. He doesn't fulfill the physical requirements," Treville argued. It wasn't derogatory, he was just voicing what Athos had thought about himself.   
"That's true, but those of us, who do fulfill the physical requirements, can't do half the things he does with technical equipment."

"That's true as well. Maybe we've come to the point where we can't just rely on strength and tactics, but have to take the chateau into the digital age. Very well, talk to him. Ask him, if he wants to stay, you have my approval." 

Athos nodded thankfully. Having Nathan in the team would make things a lot easier in the long run. Honestly, none of them, not even his three friends, were as good with technical matters as Nathan. "Aramis is still recovering from his injuries. His ribs are healing well and he helps us with administrative work. Also he keeps an eye on the new recruits and helps with their training. You know how he is, he won't take it easy, but I think in a few days he'll be back to full duty." Athos continued. 

"That's good to hear. We're operating more or less with a skeleton crew at the moment, so we need all hands on deck." Treville glanced at the personnel roster, which had become considerably shorter in the last couple of days. "Porthos helps out the guards, taking over a shift here and there. All in all we've managed to cover all areas."

Athos paused for a moment, only continuing when Treville looked up. "I couldn't find Marmion. I'm still looking and followed a few leads, but they all got cold over time."

"Athos, we will find him." Treville wanted to reassure him. It was terrible that Marmion had managed to get away, but there had been more important matters during the rescue, no one was to blame for his escape. So far, Marmion had remained undetected. Even the police hadn't been able to find him. On the other hand, if the king's men were unable to find him, why should the police fare any better. 

There was a reason after all, why the people of Fontainebleau and Paris called the "musketeers" first and the police secondly.  
"How's D'Artagnan doing?" Athos asked. 

"Better. The doctors will release him tomorrow. His wound is healing well. He has to take it slow and easy and Lemay needs to examine him regularly, but there won't be any lasting damage." Treville had only gotten the good news an hour ago himself, and he was especially glad about it. On the day of the attack, it hadn't looked too good for the youngest of the four friends. All the better that things had turned out alright in the end.

"Athos, I need you to cover for me tonight," Treville said. Before Athos could protest, he raised his hand and continued. "I know you want to continue your search for Marmion, but for tonight the hunt has to pause. I have important matters to attend to and I want to know the chateau is in good hands in my absence." Athos nodded, disgruntled. They couldn't afford to give Marmion any more of a head start than the man already had, but Treville wouldn't have made the request, if it wasn't of the highest priority. 

"What are you going to do? Do you want one of the men to go with you?" He looked at Treville questioningly.   
"No, thanks, I'll deal with it on my own," Treville answered, ending the meeting. Athos rose and left the room.

*****************************************

Around lunchtime, Constance came back from the hospital. One of the recruits and three guards had accompanied her, but had stayed outside the room at the hospital. They said goodbye at the door and Constance went to Anne's rooms. 

"Hello, Anne," she said. Her friend looked up from the newspaper she had been reading. "Ah, Constance, you come at the right time, I've just been served a light lunch. Please take a seat."  
Constance put down her handbag and joined Anne at the table. 

"So, how's D'Artagnan?" Anne asked, while they were eating. Lunch consisted of sandwiches and salat, since they both weren't really hungry. 

"Much better. Apparently he's well enough, that he can be released tomorrow."

"Oh Constance, that sounds wonderful, I'm so glad for you!"

Constance beamed with joy. "Yes, he needs to take it easy for a while, but we'll see much more of each other now, and I don't have to drive to the hospital every day."

Anne nodded, glad to see Constance happy again. Her friend had had a difficult couple of weeks.

"How is Aramis doing?"

Anne blushed. Constance was the only person who knew about it and although between them they talked freely about it, she still wasn't really used to it. "He's okay, His injury is healing well, and he has a lot to do training the recruits and helping with the restructuring."

Constance nodded. A lot of things were changing at the Chateau, it was a time of renewal. A large number of personnel had been let go and everyone was wary of hiring new people. No wonder after what had happened. In order to turn their discussion to more positive topics, Anne told Constance about her work. Since she spent the mornings at the hospital, Constance missed some of the meetings, but Anne completely understood and always brought her friend up to speed over lunch. "The finances are looking good and I think we'll close the business year with a substantial plus."

Constance nodded. She hadn't expected anything else, since everything Anne touched turned to gold. 

"Feron, Louis' brother, has invited us to come to the Cote D'Azur," Anne continued.

"He has?" Constance was slightly confused.

"Yes, he'll open a branch office for Louis there and is in the last planning phase. I think he wants to brag about it to us. It would be a good opportunity for us to get out of the chateau."

"Oh yes, especially for Louis. I hardly see him anymore."  
"He has mostly withdrawn from business matters, and he wasn't very enthusiastic about the trip either."

"He has a lot to get over. Just talk to him again about the trip," Constance suggested. Sometimes you had to give people a little nudge in the right direction.   
"You're right, I'll just have to make him consider it. He'll see that a change of scenery will be good for him."

***********************************

After his talk with Athos, Nathan was on his way back to the guard room. He wanted to give Marc and Henry, who had also become a good friend, the good news. Both of them were standing in front of the lockers, discussing the new weapons.

"Oh, hey, Nathan," Marc greeted him. Henry turned around to him, since he had been standing with his back to the door. "We've been waiting for you. You have your fitness test to get through."

"Forget about the fitness test. Athos just talked to me. He spoke with Treville and my probation is over, I'm definitely a part of the team now!" Nathan said, grinning widely. He was rarely so open with his emotions, but here at the chateau he had immediately felt at home. And now he had arrived in the team and with the other security men. 

"Man, I'm so happy for you!" Henry said, patting his shoulder appreciatively. "Congrats, dude", Marc said as well.  
"Let's celebrate! Tonight, the cave?" Nathan suggested.

"The cave?" Henry was confused. "The cave is a bar in Fontainebleau. We discovered it last week," Marc explained. "Okay, then let's check out this cave," Henry said, laughing, but then his expression changed. 

"Hey, man, what's wrong?" Nathan asked. Marc already had an idea.   
"I just hate sitting around here all the time. With D'Artagnan in hospital, I don't have assignments anymore," Henry said.

"I told you that's going to change again. Grapevine has it that D'Artagnan will be released soon," Marc tried to reassure him.

"Exactly, that's what I heard as well. Come on, you can boss me around now. Although I don't have to take the test, Athos told me I have to work on my fitness. Let's go jogging." Nathan and Marc dragged Henry outside.

"Have you heard that the king has a woman?" Marc asked as they were stepping through the door into the garden.   
"A woman?" Nathan didn't get it immediately. 

"Well, a woman, a lady friend. Someone has seen her in his bedroom. And another guard saw her coming out of the room at night, naked and wrapped only in a blanket," Marc recounted the rumor.

*********************************

After the talk with Constance over lunch, Anne had found new courage and went to see Louis again. Before she reached the door, it was suddenly opened and a woman came running out. She laughed charmingly and was not exactly dressed for the occasion. Louis ran after her and chased her down the corridor.

Anne was so surprised by the scene playing out in front of her that she stopped in her tracks and watched the two of them. Louis was so taken in by the beautiful stranger, that he didn't notice Anne's presence. Porthos stood near the door and watched the scene just like Anne. Unlike her however, he wasn't quite so surprised by it. He had gotten used to things like that since he tood the occasional double shifts and had been posted to the king's rooms a couple of times. Once Anne had managed to take her eyes off the frolicking couple, she noticed Porthos and went over to him. Porthos noticed that she was blushing, apparently the situation was uncomfortable for her.

"Porthos, do you know the lady with Louis?"  
Porthos nodded and leaned down to her conspiratorially. "Yes, Madam. That is Milady de Winter, the king's new love interest."

***********************************

Night had fallen over Paris. Treville had parked his car, an unobtrusive limousine, two streets away and walked along the dimly lit streets of the city. In the middle of the Rue du Dr Magnan he stopped beneath a streetlight. It wasn't especially bright, but it would be easier to see him there.

A short time later, he hadn't even needed to take his phone out of his pocket to while away the time, a luxurious limousine arrived and stopped at his lantern. Without waiting for permission, he opened the rear door and got into the car. When he had closed the door again, the car drove off. Like the outside, the inside of the car was made only of the finest materials. However, Treville didn't really notice the splendor of it, he immediately turned to the man sitting beside him.

"Monsieur Treville, do you have what you promised me?" 

Treville nodded and handed over and envelope.

"Thank you. Maybe I should do more business with you," the man said, tapping on the shoulder of the chauffeur. "I think not, Monsieur Savoy." the captain said.  
The chauffeur stopped again and Treville got out of the car, which then drove off into the inner city. Treville looked around, but didn't see anyone, so he returned to his own car.


	2. Au Revoir Le Chateau

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Im so glad, that so many of you came with me to season 3. Welcome back. I wanna say thank you to DebbieF and Hsg for the comment and to DebbieF, Hsg, Murphy49, SerenJ for the kudos. Good to see you. Hope you all like the second chapter as much as the first.

"Yes, your esteemed cousin hasn't sent us the flight details yet, but we can expect their arrival. My men will prepare the hotel and the rooms. Further teams will be in the vicinity at all times. All necessary information will come to me and I will forward the relevant ones to you." 

The older man was apparently satisfied with this statement and nodded. "Then let's hope that Anne can convince my brother to come."  
"And once they are at the coast and in our territory, what then?" the younger man asked.   
"Then we'll take Paris."

********************************************

During breakfast the next morning, Anne tried to interest Louis in the planned trip. It was just the two of them, so there weren't any distractions.   
"So, Louis, did you think about it?" she asked.

Louis placed his knife and fork back on the plate. He hadn't eaten much, but he wasn’t hungry any longer. "I thought for some time about it and you are right. Maybe I should, - we all should – leave the chateau and take a vacation. And a little trip to the Cote D'Azur would fit very well."

Anne smiled and raised her orange juice. "Good, then it's decided."  
Louis tried to curb her enthusiasm. "I expect everything to be planned and organized."  
"Yes, of course, you can leave everything to me," Anne said. Nothing could dampen her spirit now. Louis raised his orange juice as well and they clinked their glasses to seal the deal.

After they had both taken a sip of their juice, Louis continued. "I'll have to speak with Treville. He has to take care of our security during the journey and our stay." 

Anne nodded. She had expected this and was perfectly okay with it. And it would certainly be in Constance's interest as well.

"By the way, who is the woman I saw coming out of your room? You seem to have spent a lot of time with her lately," Anne asked, trying to sound casual.

"You'll get to know her soon enough. She will accompany us as well, so plan for one more person."

*************************************************

Nathan was in the surveillance room with a mild hangover. Henry, Marc and he had celebrated last night, and maybe they should have stopped after the fifth beer. Now he was paying the price for it. He dissolved another fizzy tablet in a glass of water and went through the recordings. The outside camera at the garage showed a dark figure taking a car and leaving the grounds. Nathan zoomed closer. 

"Treville, why did you take a car at that time of night, when you've got your own?" Nathan asked himself. He had a bad feeling about this. He copied the license plate and followed the car on the traffic cams. "And what are you doing in that area of Paris?" The situation turned more and more fishy. And in Paris he had a lot more possibilities. Like a lot of major cities, 

Paris was more or less covered with traffic cams and private as well as public surveillance cameras. 

It was child's play for him to hack into them. The cameras covering ATMs were very helpful as well. He watched Treville walk along the streets, before he stopped at a streetlight and got into a car. They drove for a short distance, before Treville got out again, walked back to his car and drove straight back to the chateau, but that last part didn't interest Nathan any more. 

It was much more interesting to find out, whose car Treville had gotten into. Quickly he ran the license plate through the DMV data base, but couldn't find anything. Then he had another idea. The government and the tax authorities know everything. He checked their register and lo and behold, he hit paydirt.

The car was registered to Victor Savoy.

*****************************************

Finally, the day had come. D'Artagnan could finally leave the smelly, dark and sterile hospital and return to the chateau and, more importantly, to Constance. He had already packed his bag and was just putting his cell phone away, when the door to his room opened. "Look at that, he's all packed and ready to go." Aramis and Athos entered.

The three men greeted each other with a quick embrace. "Well, you can't duck out of work any longer," Aramis teased. D'Artagnan had to laugh, just like Athos. "Looks like it," he replied.

Athos took D'Artagnan's bag and all three finally left the hospital. The car was parked only a short distance away and it took only a few minutes for Athos to drive out of the parking lot, with Aramis sitting beside him. On the backseat, D'Artagnan looked out of the window,   
enjoying the peace and quiet. At first, Aramis had jokingly brought him up to speed, but the closer they got to the chateau, the more they fell silent, lost in their own thoughts. 

When Athos took the car up the driveway to the wide outside steps, the memories surfaced again in D'Artagnan's mind.

**********************************

Two weeks ago

D'Artagnan was in the ballroom with Treville and Louis. Marmion was still holding them hostage, killing everyone whose luck had run out. He had been been forewarned by the unusual movement of the cameras and had been on the alert, just like Treville. Athos, Aramis and a group of guards stormed the room. Treville protected the king, shielding him as much as possible with his own body. D'Artagnan tried to help the others, taking out one of the armed guards. Bullets were flying everywhere, Aramis and Porthos were in a firefight with other servants, who had taken cover behind the pillars.

Suddenly a cold feeling started in his stomach, radiating outward and burrowing deep into his bones. His face lost all color and a fog seemed to separate him from the others. He couldn't hear and see clearly any longer and even thinking became next to impossible. He looked down at his stomach, his hands automatically going to the spot where the feeling of cold originated. A few seconds later, he felt something thick, warm and liquid between his fingers. 

He raised his hand and found it covered with blood. The realization hit him like a freight train and before his mind could react, his body had already collapsed. The last thing he noticed, before he hit the ground, was Athos running towards him, then everything went black until he woke up again on a stretcher. A slight jostling told him that he was probably being carried down the stairs. When it felt like he was on level ground again, Constance came to his side, taking hold of his hand. He couldn't see her clearly, but he noticed the tears running down her face. 

He wanted to raise his hand to wipe them away, but he was too weak. One of the paramedics came over and wanted to pull her away, but D'Artagnan didn't let go of her hand. Constance argued wildly with the paramedic. He wanted to help her, wanted to understand what was happening, but he couldn't concentrate on their words, he only saw their lips moving. 

Everything went black again.

The next thing he remembered was the hospital. The uncomfortable, slightly scratchy bedclothes and the sterile, white walls. He slightly turned his head and hissed. He must have been hit more seriously than he had thought. 

Captain Treville was sitting beside his bed. The man had apparently fallen asleep, making the younger man wonder how long he had been there already.

***********************************************

Louis was on his way to Treville's office, purposely taking a detour to avoid the ballroom. Once there, he entered without bothering to knock. "Treville, get yourself ready, we're going to take a trip."

Treville immediately stood up when he noticed who had barged into his office. "Sire, I don't understand."

"Anne wants me to go with her to the Cote D'Azur. Somehow she managed to convince me."  
"Well, I know from firsthand experience, that she's a hard woman to say no to," Treville said, smiling, and offered his boss a seat.

Louis sat down. "Now I know that as well."  
"I think it is a good idea. The vacation I mean. Everybody needs some rest, even you." Treville sat down again as well.

"Yes, that's what she said as well. In the end, I agreed, but on one condition. You will make sure that we have full security on the other end of France."

"Well, that will be very hard to organize. We have no one on site, no knowledge of the area and not enough manpower."

"Then you will leave the chateau with a skeleton crew and everyone else will come with us. You'll quickly familiarize yourself there, that's what I pay you for. You have my complete   
trust." 

Before Treville could say another word, Louis left again, leaving him alone with a momentous task.

********************************

"Oh, Constance, this will be so great! I don't remember the last time I lay on the beach!" Anne was beaming broadly.

"I know, it's been years for me, too. We wanted to spend our honeymoon in Havana, but well, you know how my husband is."

Anne nodded. "That's why you have to come with us. It would only be half as good without you and you know it. Come with us," she tried to convince her friend.

"Anne, I can't. D'Artagnan has only just been released from the hospital. He needs me, his wound is still bothering him and he is still weak," Constance argued.

"Well, D'Artagnan needs a vacation too. You know how persuasive I can be and it just might be that D'Artagnan definitely has to come with us to the Cote D'Azur," Anne said, smiling conspiratorially at Constance. 

"Well, in that case, I might reconsider," Constance said, smiling herself.

*******************************************************

Two weeks ago

Constance and Anne had been rescued by Aramis and were still in the gallery, protected by some of the other guards. Suddenly, new orders came over the radio and the two women were led to the Northern gate at the foot of the outside steps. An ambulance arrived and Anne grabbed Constance's hands. "Oh God, Constance, someone has been hurt."

"Not necessarily, it might just be a precaution," Constance speculated. A group of men came out of the door and hurried down the steps, while the paramedics hurried to meet them. 

Constance and Anne desperately tried to find a familiar face in all the people, but there was such a hullabaloo, that they couldn't get anyone to tell them what was happening. The paramedics came down the steps again, carrying a stretcher.

Anne pressed a hand against her mouth and her breathing stopped for a second. Constance immediately realized who was carried down the stairs there. "No!" she cried out, and before Anne could stop her, she hurried towards the paramedics. "No, D'Artagnan…D'Artagnan, what happened?"

Constance grabbed his hand and hurried alongside the stretcher as it was carried towards the ambulance. Again and again, she tried to talk to D'Artagnan. He roused slightly and looked around and into her eyes, but he couldn't really focus. He seemed to be in another world and that frightened her. He, who always made her feel safe, who was always beside her and protected her, was now lying on a stretcher, hurt and completely out of it, and was carried into an ambulance. She was about to climb into the ambulance herself, when someone held her back. "No, Mademoiselle, you can't come with us. We need the space."

"No, I need to come with you, I'm his girlfriend! You don't understand, I have to come with you". The paramedic kept holding her back.

Porthos came over and nodded to the man. "Constance, the paramedics need every inch of space they have. I promise, I'll take you to the hospital, but please let them do their job." 

Constance stopped struggling and the paramedic climbed back into the ambulance. The doors were closed in front of her eyes and she watched as the ambulance raced away, sirens blaring.

*********************************************

A man and a woman were lying amid rumpled sheets in a big four-poster-bed. "Mon amour, I have a surprise for you," the man said conspiratorially.

"Oh? What is it, my love?"

He gently pushed a strand of hair out of her face, that had become loose during their frolicking. "We are going on a trip," he said, kissing her neck. 

"Oh, a trip? Where are we going?" she asked, reveling in his caresses.

He stopped his ministrations and looked into her face. "To the Cote D'Azur. I have some business to attend to there." 

She put his arms around his neck. "Oh Louis, you will still have enough time for me, won't you?" She looked at him, pouting.

"Of course, Milady."

She snuggled against him like a cat. "Then it will be my pleasure to go with you."

*************************************

"We will stay at the hotel in Nice, I already forwarded the address," Anne said, checking her laptop to make sure the statement was correct. Treville nodded, taking notes of the important points. They were sitting together in a small room furnished only with a large round table and a few pieces of upholstered furniture. They had met to discuss important details, so that the journey could be organized as well as possible. 

"We'll have to take a number of rooms, since the king expects me to provide security. I can only guard one location."

Anne nodded. "I'll check up on it. If you send me a list, it should be okay."

"And we would need more time for reconnaissance. Can't the trip be postponed?"

Anne looked at the security chief and shook her head. "Unfortunately not. I know it's a big challenge for you, but we need to leave as quickly as possible to finalize the project. A delay would result in massive losses."

Treville had already worried about that, but it had been worth a try. He looked at the list again. When the king travelled, he did so with a sizeable entourage. His four best men, Anne and Constance, Louis himself and his new paramour, Marc, Vincent, Henry, Nathan, he himself and six additional guards had been selected for the trip.

He just hoped that it would be enough. Meanwhile, the remaining guards would upgrade the chateau's security standard. Which is why he had thought about leaving Nathan at the chateau, but he wanted to keep an eye on the young man, just like Henry. Maybe the two of them would prove themselves in an unfamiliar environment.

"And I thought, that D'Artagnan's convalescence could also benefit from a change of scenery. A little distance would be good for all of us," Anne added. She had been waiting the whole meeting for a good moment to mention her best friend's boyfriend.

Treville suppressed a smile. He had been thinking the same thing, but he had expected Constance to ask him herself. "I already had him on my list before you suggested him, but that's just one more good argument in his favor."

"Good, then it's decided. I think it should be possible to accommodate everybody at the hotel."

*****************************

Nathan returned to the guard room from the gym in the basement, still slightly sweaty, so he wanted to take a shower, before he went back to work. Marc had just come back from his patrol and would be off work soon. "Hi Nathan, did you get settled in alright?" he asked.

Nathan shrugged his shoulders and unexpectedly pulled Marc out of the room. He didn't want the two guards in the room with them to hear what he had to say. Once they were in the corridor, Nathan leaned closer to Marc conspiratorially and lowered his voice. "Last night I saw Treville clandestinely meet with Savoy," he said, without mentioning, that he had been actively spying on the man. 

"I'm sure that's nothing. Treville is one of the good guys, I'm sure he acted on Louis' orders." Marc trusted his boss and he had known him for a while now. Treville wasn't the kind of man who would be disloyal to his men. Nathan wasn't really convinced, for him the whole thing looked far too secretively, but before he could say anything else, Levrefe came along the corridor towards them. 

"Hey, you two. Meeting, Treville wants to see all of us in the guardroom."

The two young men nodded and went back into the room.

A few minutes later, all of the security men on duty – and that was pretty much the whole personnel – were assembled. Among them Aramis, Porthos and D'Artagnan. The latter was greeted and embraced by his colleagues.

When D'Artagnan had a little peace and quiet again, he stood together with Aramis and Porthos, talking softly. Nathan and Marc watched them. "They sure keep among their own little group…." Nathan noticed and Marc nodded.

***************************************

Half an hour before the meeting, Treville and Athos were sitting together. Treville wanted to inform his second-in-command beforehand, that was only fair. He had just come to the end of his explanation of the current status. 

"Captain, that sounds impossible to take so many men and leave the chateau with only a minimum of men," Athos said, not exactly enthusiastic about the idea, and with the inclusion of D'Artagnan and Aramis. They wouldn't really be a hindrance and he trusted their experience and expertise, but the fact was that with their injuries they weren't up to full duty.   
"I know, I considered all of this and brought it up with Anne and Louis, but you know the king." That wall he needed to say It was common knowledge at the chateau – what the king wanted, the king got. "We just have to make the best of it. Anne will send us the info as quickly as possible."

Athos nodded, there wasn't anything he could do about it anyway. Both men got up and headed for the guard room, where the others were already assembled. Athos joined his friends and Treville began to speak.

"I have called all of you together to make an announcement. The king and a few of his closest confidantes will take a trip to the Cote D'Azur and it will be our job to provide security there. I have decided to take the majority of you with me, since this is the only way we can guarantee a safe stay. During our absence the chateau will operate with a skeleton crew under the leadership of Levrefe and Durrand."

He gave the men a moment to digest these news. A murmur went through the ranks. When the room fell silent again, he continued. "I will put up the new duty roster and you will be fully instructed later. I ask all of you to lend a hand. We are going through a difficult time, but we will get through it and come out all the stronger for it."

Porthos put up the list. Athos had already informed his three friends, that they had the honor of being chosen for the trip. Aramis and D'Artagnan were looking forward to it. The trip would give them the possibility to spend more time with their ladies and who wouldn't look forward to a trip to the coast, with beautiful women and the ocean. 

Some of the men were disappointed that they hadn't been selected, but had to remain behind in Fontainebleau. Others were glad they could stay put, since they knew that the Cote D'Azur would mean a lot of work, and were hoping for a few quiet days ahead of them.

*************************

That afternoon, Anne and Constance were sitting together. They still had to book the additional rooms, and Louis' jet had to be prepared. They only had two more days. 

Anne constantly conferred with Feron regarding the organization, exchanging e-mails both with him and with his assistant. Feron had offered to put them up at his villa. Anne felt uncomfortable accepting that invitation, since it wouldn't exactly be a small group. The security men alone would be a large number and she didn't want to put even more strain on Treville, so they had eventually decided on a hotel in the vicinity.

Once everything had been planned, booked and organized, Constance said goodbye to Anne and went back to her own room, where, surprisingly, D'Artagnan was already waiting for her. As soon as she saw him, she dropped everything and ran over to him, stopping at the last second, so as not to jostle his wound.

"Did you hear? We're going on a trip, to the Cote D'Azur! Isn't it wonderful?" Constance beamed at him. God, how he had missed her smile. "I know, darling, but I'm afraid I'll be more of a burden than a help," he grumbled. His wound still bothered him. He couldn't work out or do anything useful. He was a man of action and sitting around doing nothing was not exactly his strong point. 

Constance tried to distract him by sitting in his lap, peppering his face with little kisses.   
"I don't think the doctor would be too pleased…" D'Artagnan protested, but did nothing to stop her. Instead he pulled her even closer. 

"Really? He told me I had to stimulate your circulation.." Constance answered, gently pushing him onto his back on the bed.

**********************************

Once Constance had left, Anne had quickly sent all the necessary information and data to Treville, before she went to bed. It had been an exhausting day after all. Before she fell asleep, she decided to phone Jeany. 

"Anne, has something happened?" Jeany answered, slightly worried.   
"No, no, I was just busy up to now. I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"No, don't worry, I had a client here at the gallery until now anyway."  
"Ah, that's okay then. I just wanted to let you know that we'll take a trip two days from now. I thought maybe you would like to come with us."

Anne and Constance had spontaneously thought of that during the planning. Why not combine business with pleasure? 

"Oh, where are you going?"

"We'll go to the Cote D'Azur. I'm not sure how long we'll stay, but I expect it will be at least two weeks. It'll be good for all of us to get away and have a little vacation."  
"I can imagine. You've all been through a lot. Unfortunately I can't come. My calendar is full at the moment with the studio and a new vernissage, but maybe I can take you up on your offer next week and just follow you then?"

Anne was disappointed. She had grown very fond of Jeany and had been looking forward to spending the time with Constance and her.   
"Of course, I'll just send you your ticket, or maybe the jet, that's no problem."


	3. Bonjour Cote D'Azur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beautiful Sunday my folks, today Im posting chapter 3 of Coast of dreams. Have a look. Also thanks to to Hsg. I hope you will be satisfied with more D’art hurt in chapter 7. Till then please be patient.   
> Here are the location pictures:   
> [Jet](https://pin.it/6s4hvylcxwcrcp)  
> [Interieur Jet](https://pin.it/jdrwfmsui2bte6)  
> [Flightroute](https://pin.it/wgmwzqntvdrfjt)  
> [location Hotel](https://pin.it/376jy6fj7laj3z)  
> [Dinner location](https://pin.it/lr2phexrq7e3wl)  
> And here are the outfits:  
> [Annes Outfit](https://pin.it/67xuthjy3gbhgk)  
> [Constance Outfit](https://pin.it/spdtrgv6rcqv7p)  
> [D'artgnan Outfit](https://pin.it/gatjh6sovntqbl)  
> [Aramis Outfit](https://pin.it/7rxbgi4hlukyqq)

Within the next two days, the hotels were booked, the private jet was prepared and the bags were packed. At 11 o'clock, the whole group was ready and assembled in the courtyard. The luggage was loaded into the cars and the whole group would split up as well.

Louis stepped out of the door, followed by Milady, who hid her eyes behind a large pair of sunglasses. He nodded to Treville. He and his lovely companion would take the most comfortable car, a Bentley. They just got in and the car drove off. Anne and Constance, on the other hand, made sure once again, that their luggage was loaded into one of the cars, before they got into one of the SUVs and followed the Bentley. Treville gave the remaining twelve guards final instructions, before he took Levrefe and Durrand aside one last time. The two men reassured him that they would make sure everything would be okay at the chateau. 

Athos had just come out of the chateau with the last of the equipment bags, and he and Treville brought up the rear of the whole cavalcade. 

The airport, Le Bourget, lay in the North of Paris. The drive took the whole group about an hour. Since Le Bourget was a private airport, catering especially to wealthy people like Louis, the cars were able to drive directly up to the jet, that Louis had bought some time ago for business as well as private trips, because renting one every time he needed a jet had become too much of a hassle. Since he required a higher level of security than other businessmen, the jet was a larger model, a Falcon X7. Constance stood in front of it, staring open-mouthed at the plane. Anne grinned slightly at her friend's awestruck expression.

"Tell me again why the two of us weren't picked up by the jet?" Constance asked.  
"Because it was in the shop for maintenance at that time, so that new upholstery could be installed. Louis wanted to send a car, but you know how much Iike to travel by train," Anne answered, laughing lightly.

Constance nodded, unable to take her eyes away. The jet had fourteen windows on every side and was basically white, with three wavy lines running along the side. Porthos and the guards helped the ground staff to load the suitcases and bags into the cargo hold, while Louis and Treville greeted the captain.

The captain seldomly had a full flight, but today was one of those days. The whole group consisted of nineteen persons. Once Treville had gone over the flight plan again with the captain, he and Louis stepped into the plane. Anne and Constance followed them. 

For the journey, both women had dressed comfortably. Anne had chosed black skinny jeans, with artistic tears on the thighs and knees, underlaid with white fabric, a white crop shirt and a black beanie, as well as high black Converse sneakers. A pair of black headphones dangled around her neck. Constance had decided on a lighter color scheme, with light blue jeans and a white silk top, covered by a pale pink cardigan and matching flat heeled sandals. 

"How long will the flight take?" Constance asked one of the flight attendants, as she walked up the short gangway. "Not long, Madame. About an hour and thirty minutes. A little longer when with headwind."

**************************

Athos angrily threw the suitcases into the cargo hold. He had seen Louis' companion and immediately recognized her and his mood was correspondingly bleak. Porthos had noticed it right away, but once he had recognized her as well, he refrained from giving his friend some encouraging words. They had known each other long enough for him to know that Athos would need some time to himself to process this development. Nonetheless, he exchanged a worried look with Aramis, who asked himself, how Milady had managed to stay unnoticed by himself, Porthos and especially Athos for so long.

Once everything had been loaded, Athos had worked through the shock and the resulting anger, and everybody had found a seat on the plane, the captain and co-pilot started the pre-flight check, and a few minutes later the plane took off.

****************************************

Athos, Aramis and Porthos were sitting in the back part of the plane, together with Treville, the recruits and the other guards. Sitting beside Athos, Porthos leaned over to his friend. "Are you okay?" Athos just grunted, then he took a deep breath and considered his position, the place and most of all the company around him. "Yes, I'll be okay. It was just a shock to see her at the king's side." Porthos nodded in understanding. He had never thought to find her as Louis' companion, how much worse must Athos be feeling. He and Aramis were the only ones who knew how much this matter affected Athos. The man had been silent for a long time, they had never known about the story and that Athos had an ex-wife. After a particularly hard assignment, they had all met at the Cave de la Truffiere- Athos had already had five beers and the alcohol had apparently loosened his tongue. After that night they had never mentioned the matter again.

Athos kept looking over to Louis and Milady. Despite the angle of his seat and the high seat backs he could see them pretty well. Every now and then, she kissed him, and all in all the two behaved like lovestruck teenagers. It was rather ludicrous and the other passengers, especially Constance and Anne, felt uncomfortable watching this display of affections.

Milady was all but sitting in Louis' lap, as close as she could possibly get. Louis let her do whatever she wanted and reveled in the attention. Luckily, no one was noticing Athos, who was practically staring by now. How could this woman show up in his life again after all she had done, and at the king's side, no less.

*********************************

D'Artagnan had made sure to get the seat beside Constance. She had taken a window seat and he the one beside her. She was slowly getting used to the fact that they no longer had to keep their relationship a secret, but it took time. She regarded her boyfriend from the corner of her eye. Even thinking the word was more than unfamiliar. A few weeks ago she had been a married woman…. 

God, he looked gorgeous again. Like her, he had chosen a blue jeans, but in a darker color, with distressed patches on the thighs and knees, and a grey Henley shirt. Like Anne he was wearing a beanie matching his shirt, as well as simple, grey Nikes. The Ray Ban sunglasses he had worn at the airport were now lying on the small table in front of him. 

D'Artagnan gave his girlfriend an amused look. "Never been on a plane before?" 

Constance shook her head. "No, my mother hated flying and my father thought it a waste of time." She blushed slightly, looking down at her lap. 

"You don't have to be embarrassed, I feel honored to be at your side for such an important thing."

Constance found his reaction very cute and gave him a quick kiss. She didn't want a public spectacle like the one three rows in front of them, but she wanted to show him how important he was to her and how much she appreciated that he had come on this trip with her, despite the limitations of his injury. She turned back to the window and watched the countryside grow smaller and smaller. One of the flight attendants brought champagne and D'Artagnan poured a glass for her. 

"I can't drink now," Constance tried to protest.

"Of course you can. You're on holiday and you deserve to treat yourself." 

With a slight hesitation she took a small sip from her glass. That pleased D'Artagnan and he leaned back in his seat, with an arm around her shoulders. Constance leaned lightly against his chest, with the glass still in her hand. "How's your wound? Does it still hurt?" she asked.

"Not really. The last two days have really helped. It's hard to get well at that hospital." The topic made D'Artagnan uncomfortable and he did his best to change it. "Do you already have plans once we've landed?" he asked.

Constance thought about it. "Mhmm….no, nothing specific. I'm sure we'll have a lot of work once we've arrived, but I would like to go to the beach for a swim once."

********************************

Vincent, Marc, Nathan and Henry were at a four seat table at the very back of the plane, each doing their own thing; listening to music, reading or in Nathan's case, typing on his laptop. "Well, this mission can't be all that important," Vincent grumbled. The other three tried to ignore him and his dour mood, but found it surprisingly difficult. 

"And exactly why can't this mission be important? Treville himself, his four best men and a couple of other guards have come on this trip." Marc had a good grip on the situation.  
"But Henry has been chosen as well. How long ago has he joined? Come on, tell me, how long have you been here?" Vincent asked belligerently, looking directly at Henry. However, the young man was used to such situations from the Red Guard. He kept reading his book and ignored Vincent, who continued to grumble empty phrases for a while, but eventually fell silent again. His behavior hadn't gone unnoticed by the others.

***************************

Anne sat at one of the four-seat groups, a couple of documents and a laptop spread out on the table in front of her, using the remaining flight time to get some work done. Her back was to the direction of travel, so she could see into the back part of the plane, with Aramis directly in her line of sight. He smiled at her so charmingly, that she couldn't help smiling back. At some point she pulled herself together and concentrated on the papers in front of her again, but Aramis continued to stare at her. Even in her simple outfit, she looked like a queen. He himself had decided to dress a little less casually in grey-blue jeans and a dark blue shirt, with a beige cardigan, a brown belt and brown lace-up shoes. He was pulled out of his trance by someone lightly shaking him. "Stop staring like that," Porthos whispered to him. Apparently Anne had noticed his look. She concentrated on her work again, but there was a big grin on her face. A flight attendant blocked his view, offering Anne snacks, refreshments and a hot towel. 

Anne gratefully accepted a drink. She took a sip from her glass, leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes for a moment.

*****************************************

One and a half weeks earlier  
Anne shot up in bed. The sheet that had covered her, had been pushed down and was now sticking uncomfortably to her thighs. She was breathing heavily and sweat beaded on her forehead, as well as on her arms and legs. She must have called out, because a few seconds later, Aramis stormed through the door, looking wildly around and placing himself protectively in front of her. His gun, usually holstered at his belt, was drawn and held against his chest. It was clear from his tense posture that some movements were still causing him a lot of pain. Once he realized that there was no intruder in Anne's room, he put the gun away again and sat down on the bed beside Anne, putting his arms around her and gently rocking her. She was trembling all over and clung tightly to him. Slowly her breathing returned to normal and her heartbeat slowed down. He gently stroked her head and talked to her in a soft, dark voice, barely above a whisper. Anne realized that it had only been a dream and that she was safe in her bedroom, with Aramis by her side, but the dream had seemed so real.

She was still clutching his shirt, but Aramis didn't mind giving her all the time she needed. From his tie in the army he knew, that after an emotional shock, you had to take the time to realize where you were. Once she had collected herself again, she looked up at him. "How did you get into my bedroom so quickly?" she asked. Not that she was complaining, but it was a little strange, since she knew that due to his injuries, Aramis had only been assigned to training and there were other guards in the corridors. 

"I was in front of your door," he answered simply.

"The whole time?"

"Yes. I wanted you to feel safe here and I wanted to provide a little security."

"Thank you," Anne whispered, kissing him lightly.  
"Do you want to tell me about your dream?" he asked.

Anne shook her head. A few strands of her blond hair fell into her face with the movement, making it difficult for Aramis to read her expression.

"Okay. Try to go back to sleep. I'll keep watch outside your door." He wanted to let go of her and get up, but Anne resisted. "Stay," she said. As always, he was her devoted servant, so he complied. Anne lay back down against her pillow and Aramis took a blanket and lay down on the other side of the bed, still fully clothed. He turned on his side and watched her. Anne had closed her eyes again and the relaxed expression on her face suggested, that this time she had a much more pleasant dream. At some time, Aramis fell asleep as well.

*******************************************

Athos had just gone to the restroom and Porthos was reading a magazine. Aramis had his eyes on other things and his friends were still arguing with Vincent. Now was a good opportunity for a talk with Treville. Even though his talk with Marc was supposed to have had the opposite effect, Nathan had to know the truth. He took his laptop over to Treville and dropped into the seat beside the man. Treville was surprised. So far the recruits had shown tremendous respect for him and it had taken most of them a year, before they had dared to approach him. Apparently Nathan was not like them. 

He came straight to the point. "What was in that envelope?"

"What do you mean, boy?" Treville pretended ignorance and innocence, wanting to test the ability to compromise, assertiveness and patience of his youngest recruit.   
"The envelope you brought Savoy three nights ago. That envelope."

Treville didn't let his surprise show, but he had to admit, he was positively impressed. He had done everything he could to remain undetected, but apparently no one was safe from technical surveillance. Such determination and purposeful action should be rewarded.

"I went to Savoy to conclude our business. That envelope contained all the results and leads that we collected. I handed the information over in exchange for Savoy's promise to keep his distance from Louis and stay out of his business matters."

Now Nathan was even more skeptical. That confession had come too quickly for his liking, but he was afraid, he wouldn't be able to learn anything more at the moment. 

Treville had become curious as well. "How do you know all that, boy?" 

Nathan cleared his throat. "I watched you. I went through all the tapes on the hard drive. That's where I saw you and from then on it was easy to follow you. Paris has a good network."

Treville nodded, he had already thought something like that. However, he was also angry. His men weren't supposed to spy on him, not even Nathan. Before the young man could be raked over the coals for this, Nathan left his seat and went back to Marc, Henry and Vincent, who had noticed neither his absence nor the talk with Treville.

**************************************

By now, the flight attendants had served drinks and snacks to every passenger. Porthos took a large gulp from his can of cola and leaned back his head.

One week earlier  
Like every day, Porthos entered the chateau, walking along the corridors towards the guard room, with a large carryall in his hand. The closer he got to the ballroom, the more bullet holes he saw in the walls. As he passed the door to the ballroom, he could see workmen renovating the room. Although the damage hadn't been too severe, Louis and Anne had requested a complete renovation, they wanted a proverbial chance of scenery. Porthos was all for that. His mind still went back to the events of that day and the large stain of D'Artagnan's blood could not be completely removed. The new floor, which was supposed to be laid by the end of the week, would eliminate every trace of it.

In the next corridor he met an absent-minded and seemingly stressed Treville. They nodded silently in greeting and went their separated ways. The whole chateau had grown very quiet. The lively, happy atmosphere had been banned from within the walls and a breath of cold air seemed to be blowing. 

Anxious to get rid of the gloomy thoughts, Porthos changed into his workout clothes and threw the bag into his locker, before he headed down to the basement to take out his frustration with the various weight machines. Two hours later he headed for the showers, running into some recruits, who apparently had just finished their training. They were all very nervous and who could blame them? Treville had laid off a couple of men lately, not only from the security team, but also regular personnel. It was hard to know who to trust. Porthos wanted to reassure them and joined their conversation.

"Come on, boys, you're too young to be traitors. Don’t worry, we will always need some fresh blood." They all laughed and the mood became a little lighter, but his efforts didn’t last long. Treville joined them and the laughter died down. 

"Porthos, a question. Who do you think would be the most suitable guard?"  
Treville showed him a list of names. Porthos looked through it and pointed to one name. "Were all of these layoffs really necessary, Sire?" he asked, keeping his voice low, so they wouldn't be overheard. He had his doubts about the reduction in numbers, but his trust in Treville's leadership was greater.

"Yes, Louis insisted on them. If I hadn't done it, he would have made the selection himself and who knows who would have left us then. And I have to admit, it's hard to hire new people, the wound of treason is still too deep."

Porthos had already noticed last week how unsure Treville seemed about his decisions. He seemed hectic, agitated and somehow beside himself. That made it all the more important for them to present a united front and Porthos was more than prepared to do his part, but before he could reassure his captain, the man had already left again.

**************************************

The motions of the plane, and the deployment of the undercarriage let the passengers know that the plane would land shortly. Once they were on the ground, the pilot and the crew said goodbye to the passengers, as they disembarked and took a breath of fresh air. They had finally arrived in Nice.

A large limousine drove up to the plane and stopped at the foot of the gangway. An older man with thinning hair got out, leaning on a cane for balance. "Louis, my dear brother, so good to have you finally here." He spread his arms and Louis greeted him just as friendly. They embraced and lightly slapped each other's back. 

"Feron, how long has it been? Far too long anyway. Oh, how beautiful it is here. It was good that you invited us."

Anne refrained from mentioning, that it had been her idea and she had had to convince him. She was standing behind Louis, but no one paid her very much attention.

"Louis, let me tell you, we have a lot planned. But first, make yourselves at home. As requested, there will be cars at your disposal. You'll go to the hotel first to freshen up, unpack and get settled. Then we'll talk business. The project is on track and we're moving into the final phase."

"Oh, what exactly do you have planned?" Anne asked, gaining some attention. 

"Well, Madame, you will see in time. However, if I know women, I'm sure you'll want to freshen up first. Come on, brother." Feron put his arm around Louis and led him to the cars. Louis' entourage was not exactly happy at this reception, but they followed him.

********************************

The cavalcade drove to the hotel. It was a short drive, but they managed to get a first glimpse of the city. Constance regretted that the road didn't run along the ocean. The five-star hotel, Boscolo Exedra, was situated at a busy street not far from the beach. It was magnificent and the room rate was upwards of 300 Euros per night.

Constance was marveling at the display of wealth. Anne always managed to take her to unfamiliar worlds. Feron and Louis had already arrived and Anne and Constance followed them to the check in. They all went up to their rooms to unpack. Athos, Porthos and Aramis got together with the other guards and did a first security check of the hotel.

D'Artagnan went to his room and made plan for the following nights. For today, no activities were planned, they would just unpack and get settled. Later in the evening, the sun was just going down, the whole group met on the beautiful rooftop terrace, from where they could see the mountains and had a great view of the city. In the middle of the terrace there was a small pool with a couple of deckchairs surrounding it. A short distance away, tables had been set. 

The whole group, including the musketeers and Treville, took a seat and enjoyed a superb meal, talking and laughing a lot. In these rare moments, it was almost as if the whole events involving Marmion had never happened.

Louis and Milady, who had taken a table separate from the others for dinner, grabbed a bottle of wine from the cooler and without a word of goodbye went back to the room they shared. Athos had been the only one to notice their departure, but he was soon distracted by Porthos' shameless jokes.


	4. Views in Nice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we are finally here in Nice. How do you like the new setting? Also big thank you to Hsg for the comment. And hello to Sigmund and thanks for the comment. Also thanks to the anonymous guest who left a kudo.  
> Here are the outfits:  
> [Anne Outfit](https://pin.it/vp2vkcpcufvhvl)  
> [Constance Outfit](https://pin.it/26u2dopd3wkh4b)  
> And here the location pictures:  
> [Breakfast room](https://pin.it/gcfkcpzlxnw6tg)  
> [facade](https://pin.it/hlyr5i7okbieas)  
> [entrance halle](https://pin.it/elr34c5d4bd4lm)  
> [Annes excecutive Suite](https://pin.it/7glqkjezjsz5tc)  
> [Louis presidental Suite](https://pin.it/psfmjkyv2qiecz)  
> [Nice](https://pin.it/3x5visi3ygsbhh)  
> [Flower market](https://pin.it/i45dbfyxtmervz)

Outside, birds were chirping. Anne turned around one more time, but she couldn’t delay the inevitable. No matter how comfortable her bed was, she had to get up. She flipped back the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Sitting on the side of the bed for a moment, she rubbed her eyes before she got up and shuffled to the bathroom, which was to the right of the bed.

The hotel room she had checked into yesterday, was overwhelmingly luxurious and done completely in shades of white and cream. A large mirror at the opposite wall made the room seem larger than it was. A TV set was integrated into the mirror, so Anne had been able to  
check the stock exchange prices in bed last night.

In the open bathroom, white marble with grey veins running through it covered the walls as well as the bathtub. Beside the sink was a small table, where her beauty case stood. Anne washed her face and brushed her teeth, and went back into the room. A look outside told her that it was already late in the morning, so she hurriedly grabbed some clothes out of the wardrobe. Once she was dressed for the day, she decided to enjoy the phenomenal view for a few moments. From her balcony, she could see the ocean. She couldn’t actually hear it, but she could feel the salty air. 

Down on the street a jogging man caught her eye. He wasn’t bad looking, lightly tanned and shirtless, wearing only black sports pants. Reluctantly, she tore her eyes off him and headed for the breakfast room, checking her outfit again in the elevator mirror. 

For today she had chosen a salmon colored dress, that ended a little above her knees. It was sleeveless, with gathered shoulders and a deep v-neck. A long golden necklace, a handbag with a matching salmon colored flower print, and flat sandals, also salmon colored, completed her outfit.

Breakfast was served in a room on the first floor. Walls striped in brown and beige, brown chairs and grey and beige accents gave the room a comfortable, cozy feel. The only slightly jarring thing were empty and backless frames on the walls. 

Anne selected a small bowl of muesli and a glass of orange juice from the buffet and took a seat at one of the tables, while she waited for Constance, who would probably arrive in a few minutes as well. A server came over and brought her coffee.

*****************************************

In the Presidential Suite of the Boscolo, two people caressed each other amid rumpled sheets. The woman kissed the man’s neck.

“Mon amour, your neck, your eyes…you’re absolutely flawless.”  
Even compliments like these couldn’t make Milady blush. Instead, she reveled in them and could never get enough of them.

“Beloved, you are so affectionate. Why have you been alone for so long?” she asked.  
“I never met the right woman. They wanted my power, my money, everything but me,” he said, his admission changing the mood in the stately room. His face quickly brightened again, as he looked at her. “But you are different. You see me, Louis, not the king.”

She smiled and leaned over to him again. Their laughter was muffled by the pillows, so that only indistinct sounds could be heard from outside the room. 

The suite they had checked into was put to very good use. Last night they had thoroughly tested the large circular bathtub, before they had fallen into bed still dripping wet. Like in Anne’s room, the bathroom was not separated from the rest of the room and done in white marble with irregular grey veins.

**************************************

Slightly out of breath and covered in sweat, Aramis arrived back at the hotel. The building’s empire style facade with lots of decorative elements was enormous, almost grandiose. The large hotel consisted of six floors. Their group had booked the whole top floor, with a small number of rooms on lower floors for the guards. Aramis quickly entered the air-conditioned foyer, which like the rest of the hotel was predominantly bright white. 

The floor was polished to a high sheen, so that Aramis could see his reflection in it. A passage to the right of the revolving door led to the reception area, another one to the left led to the bank of elevators, while straight ahead was a wide corridor decorated with golden statues and small groups of dainty chairs and tables. 

From the left side, D’Artagnan came up to Aramis. “Man, the doc said you shouldn’t overdo it,” his young friend admonished, worried. Aramis shook his head. “No, no, it felt really good.  
After the flight and last night, I was a little rusty. A little exercise took care of that and cleared my head.”

D’Artagnan understood completely. He, too, would have loved to take a turn around the block. “Okay, but take care of yourself. Here in Nice we need all hands on deck. I’m off to meet Treville, I’m assigned to desk duty,” he said, sounding less than enthusiastic, which Aramis noted as well. 

“Come on, man. Just consider it practice for when you leave us and move to the country with Constance,” he teased, making both of them smile at the image. As if D’Artagnan could ever live a quiet country life. 

“No, but it feels like I’m being put out to pasture forever,” D’Artagnan said rather dejectedly, before he went on his way. 

Aramis watched him leave worriedly. He didn’t like his friend’s despondent mood. He knew from experience, what it meant to be out of commission for so long due to an injury. However, that wasn’t something he could help him with, D’Artagnan needed to work through that on his own.

**********************************

A few minutes later, Constance came down to breakfast as well. “Good morning, Anne! Did you sleep well?” She knew about Anne’s nightmares, and that she got little sleep without Aramis by her side. 

“Last night was much better. Apparently the change of scenery really is good for us.”  
“I’m glad about that. Sometimes a little change can really work wonders.”

“Are you satisfied with your room?” Anne asked. 

“Yes, of course. The hotel is wonderful. A little too much white for my taste, but you get used to it.”

Anne laughed. “Oh yes, the interior decorator must have been really fond of white.”  
Constance got something from the buffet for herself and the two women enjoyed their delicious breakfast. 

For today, Constance had chosen a cream colored full length dress with a colorful allover flower print, a deep v-neck and spaghetti straps that crossed on her back. Like Anne, she had chosen flat sandals, in a deep brown. A light straw hat and a pair of brown sunglasses lay on the chair beside her.

Treville came over to their table. “Good morning, Mesdames. May I join you for breakfast?”  
“Of course! Please take a seat,” Anne said pleasantly. Treville took a seat at their table and poured coffee for Constance and himself, since Anne’s cup was still part full.  
“Is everyone satisfied with their rooms?” Anne asked, worried something might have gone wrong, since the rooms had to be booked in a hurry.

“Don’t worry, everything is fine. We assigned the rooms so that no one can complain. For most of the men, their room here is larger than their apartment at home,” Treville assured her, laughing nervously. 

“Good, I’m glad. Treville, we would like to explore the city today, if that’s okay.”  
Treville had no objections. “Of course, Madame, as you wish. But please take a few guards with you. Here in Nice you never know.”

“Of course, I will speak to Athos about that,” Constance said.

Treville finished his coffee and stood up. “I wish you a pleasant sightseeing trip then,” he said and left the two women to their breakfast.

“Well, that was a short visit,” Constance said. 

Anne agreed. “He seems to be frazzled and unsure, and checks everything twice. Aramis said that they have to work double shifts. He discharged half the security personnel.”

“Well, we’re all still reeling from shock. Everybody reacts differently to something like that.”

****************************************

Earlier this morning

While Aramis jogged, a dark car with two equally dark occupants had followed him unnoticed.  
Now the two men were parked at the edge of the city and went through the photos they had taken. “Giles, you took too few photos again, and half of them are blurry. I don’t want to have to follow Mr High-And-Mighty again tomorrow.”

The second man ignored the criticism. “Yes, he just *has* to go jogging without a shirt. A real showoff. But look here, that photo should do it. You can see the face very well and that’s what the boss wanted, wasn’t it?”

The first man scrutinized the photo. “Yes, man, but next time I take the photos and you drive.”

“Here, there’s one of that other guy in the lobby. Pretty young, isn’t he? You think it’s one of his colleagues?” the second man asked.

“How should I know? Save it anyway. We’re supposed to find out everything about him and that includes potential friends who would help him.”

The men went through the rest of the photos on the memory card. “Dude, we need a lot more information. Guess we’ll have to tap into their computers.” They both nodded. “The boss wants to know everything. Do you know what he has planned for the man?”

The second man shook his head. “No idea, but he won’t be having a good time at the Cote D’Azur, that’s for sure.”

*************************************

After breakfast the ladies went back to their rooms. Constance made a detour to Athos’s room. He wasn’t exactly pleased that they wanted to explore the city, but he could hardly say no. Constance was glad that their plan would be okay and left again. Athos closed the door and called the others. For the sightseeing tour he selected Porthos and Henry. 

Porthos because of his experience and strength. He knew the procedures and could be counted upon in any situation. Henry, because he wanted to test him, since he didn’t know the young man too well yet. Henry had definitely proven himself during the Marmion situation, but how far could or would he go? Athos had to know every man and such a little sightseeing trip was a good opportunity to find out. Once he had informed the two men, he grabbed his walkie-talkie and his gun and went down into the lobby.

**********************************

D’Artagnan and Treville were in a small conference room, working on a plan of Nice, marking possible danger spots. 

“Once you’re done, send the map to Athos’ phone,” Treville said.  
“His phone? Wouldn’t a laptop make more sense?” D’Artagnan asked, slightly confused.  
“No, he probably already left.”

“He left? I didn’t see any official trips in the itinerary.”

“No wonder. The ladies spontaneously decided that they want to take a look at the city. Athos and a few men will accompany them,” Treville said, regarding the matter as closed. 

D’Artagnan, however, was frustrated. He should have gone with the ladies, with Constance, himself, but his injury made him temp housecat and it was driving him crazy. He couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. His head knew that Athos was a very good protector for Anne and Constance, but his heart had a different opinion.

*************************************

The small group consisting of Athos, Anne, Constance, Henry and Porthos had met in the lobby and were now on the way to the Promenade des Anglais, a seven kilometer long street. Every now and then, they had to evade skateboarders or joggers. Some of the joggers were staring after the beautiful ladies and almost fell over their own feet. 

Things like that made the job of the three bodyguards even more complicated. They were in unfamiliar territory, far away from their comfort zone, and had to be extra vigilant, but for Athos and especially Porthos such a situation wasn’t new. It was what made their job so interesting. 

“Oh, why don’t we stay there?” Constance asked, as they went past the famous hotel Negresco, staring wide-eyed at the imposing building erected in the 1910s. 

“They didn’t have enough free rooms and I didn’t want anyone to have to stay elsewhere,” Anne explained. Everybody understood and they walked on. Unfortunately, Nice had only a pebble beach, so they turned in the direction of the city center. They would probably have time enough in the following days to relax on the beach. 

Henry spoke up. “Madame, if I may make a suggestion, the pedestrian area of the Rue Massena is very popular with the local people. Very good if you want to do some shopping,” he suggested.

Anne and Constance were delighted. No woman would ever deny a chance to go shopping.  
“Very good suggestion. Thank you, Henry. Then we’ll go to the Rue Massena first.” Without waiting for the approval of Athos and Porthos, Anne and Constance walked on and a few minutes later they were right in the middle of the hustle and bustle. Due to the school holidays the city was pretty busy already. 

Athos and Porthos covered the sides, while Henry brought up the rear. Constance and Anne didn’t notice it, they only had eyes for the beautifully decorated shop windows. Here and there, they went into one of the shops and the shopkeepers were so delighted by the ladies, that they fawned over them. The ladies left each of the shops with a couple of bags. 

Apparently they needed new outfits for the vacation, although Porthos doubted it, considering the number of suitcases they had brought onto the plane. But a man didn’t complain. At the end of the Rue Massena, they were so laden down with bags, that Porthos called a car to take their bounty back to the hotel, and the group could continue their tour. 

The ladies decided that they had to see the flower market, since it was one of the things Nice was famous for. It held not only flowers, as the name suggested, but fresh fruit and vegetables could also be found there. “Look there, how beautiful! If only I could buy everything….” 

Constance couldn’t stop gushing. Anne was overwhelmed as well. All the colors and smells were almost dizzying. There were potted plants and cut flowers, but Anne and Constance refrained from buying any of them. They would only be able to put them in their rooms, and who know how often they would be there. It would be a waste. 

“Such diversity…Did you ever see so many different kinds of flowers?” Constance asked. Anne shook her head. “No, it’s really incredible. We should get the contact info for some of the  
vendors, maybe they’ll deliver to the chateau.”

Once a few business cards had changed hands, the group went further into the city center. After all that shopping, they definitely needed something to eat. A short while later they found a nice restaurant named “Flaveur”.

“Athos, Porthos, Henry, won’t you please join us?” Anne invited their guardians.  
“With pleasure, Madame,” Athos answered, and they all took a seat at a large table in the middle of the restaurant. The room was air-conditioned and it was nice to get out of the muggy heat of the city for a few hours. All of them decided on a three-course-meal. Henry and Porthos selected a Porter House steak, Athos an Angus steak, Anne chose fish and Constance a vegetarian zucchini lasagna. They ate leisurely. The women had some wine with their lunch, but the men declined, since they were on duty. However, Anne and Constance felt in a holiday mood and decided to indulge themselves.

“Henry, how do you like working for us?” Anne asked. She didn’t really know the young man, only what Aramis had told her about him. He had defected from another organization to them and had proven himself as an important new team member. She wanted to know more about their newest addition. 

“Very much, Madame. Everybody is so nice to me. Some things are still unclear to me, but I’ve met nothing but helpfulness, so I have no cause for complaint.”

Porthos and especially Athos felt proud. It was clear that Henry’s statement wasn’t just a polite answer, he really meant it. 

“I’m very glad to hear that. D’Artagnan had only good things to tell about you as well,” Constance said, giving him an encouraging smile. Henry blushed slightly, not used to others saying nice things about him. With the Red Guard, people were generally put down and insulted, and taking false credit for others’ achievements was common. All the nicer to receive a compliment for a change.

Anne paid for everyone, including the bodyguards of course, and they left for the next part of their tour. During lunch, Constance had found an archaeological excavation they wanted to see. It was within walking distance and there was no entrance fee, so they didn’t have to wait in line. 

Porthos and Athos had their own opinion concerning this stop. To them it was just old stones. Anne and Constance, however, saw so much more in them. In some places, only a few stones remained, but in others, outlines, pillars and doorways could be recognized, but admittedly one needed a good deal of imagination to see something like a settlement. They decided to take a few photos in front of a rather well preserved wall to memorize this moment. 

Some of the male visitors were obviously delighted with Anne and Constance and impertinently stared. It was so obvious as to be almost rude. Of course, Athos and Porthos both noticed it. Athos signaled to Porthos to take care of it. Henry watched from a slight distance, impressed by the way the two men communicated without words, just with a simple gesture. 

The young men came towards the small group, practically undressing the ladies with their eyes. By now it was definitely embarrassing and overbearing. Porthos had enough and purposefully stepped in their way. Athos stood behind and a little to the side of him. Henry stayed with the ladies, who had not noticed anything, since it took place some distance from them. 

“What’s up, man, you don’t want to share? Here in Nice we’re a little more open,” one of the young men, apparently their spokesperson, said. Porthos just snorted and puffed out his chest. “Where we come from, women aren’t regarded as objects you can share. Have a little more respect.”

Athos and Porthos put their arms akimbo, which pushed back their jackets and revealed their guns. That sight, coupled with Porthos’ large frame made the young men retreat.  
Athos nodded to Porthos and they both relaxed a little as they went back to the others. He had chosen Porthos for just such a reason, no one was better at impressing strangers. Aramis and D’Artagnan had their advantages, too, without doubt, but when it came to a first impression, Porthos was unbeatable. 

For the final part of their tour, Athos had ordered two cars to take them to the Colline du Chateau. The cars had to stop at the foot of the stairs, and in the end, Anne and Constance chose the elevator, which transported them a hundred meters up. On the top, they were greeted by a large park, which made them feel right at home. 

“Anne, why hasn’t your cousin bought this chateau instead?” Constance joked. Anne had to smile as well. Never give Louis the wrong ideas. They walked through the park until they came to a cemetery. The bright sunshine lessened the gloomy mood such a place usually had. 

“Oh, look, there are graves from the 19th century,” Constance exclaimed, pointing at a row of very old gravestones. Porthos and Henry were very impressed, too, their attention more on the gravestones than on their surroundings. Athos let it pass. 

They were more or less alone up here, only a handful of tourists were in sight, since the cemetery was very large. From there they went on to the cathedral, where they lighted candles for the people who had died at the chateau and spent a few moments in remembrance. Inside the cathedral it was almost cold and slightly musty, so they did not stay too long and went over to the ruins of a fortress. 

“More stones….” Porthos whispered to Athos, who just patted him on the shoulder, commiserating with him. Henry on the other hand felt taken back into the time of medieval knights and looked at everything with great interest. Constance also had fun walking around between the walls and pillars. However, she quickly noticed that the others were slightly bored, so they made a final photo stop at the waterfall, before they went back to the cars and returned to the hotel.

**************************************************

Back in his room, Athos quickly typed his report. He had played rock, paper, scissors with Porthos in the car and had lost. Fresh out of the shower and with just a towel around his waist, he now sat on the bed with his laptop. His cellphone rang, and when he saw who was calling, he picked up immediately. “Hey, how are you? Is Fontainebleau still standing?”

 

Athos put his laptop aside. “Then come here. I’m sure Anne will send the jet for you, since she already offered.”

Jeany said hopefully.  
“I’ll hope so, I miss you.”

 

“No, we just went on a little sightseeing tour with Anne and Constance, but we’re back now.”  
.

“Well, you know I’d much rather find time with you and with you I never get rest. On the contrary, I hope we never need to rest…” he said impishly. 

Jeany said, laughing.

***********************************

Anne and Constance went back to their rooms as well. Constance and D’Artagnan had agreed to meet in the evening, but seeing that he wasn’t in their room yet, she just dropped off her handbag and went to Anne. 

Anne was just unpacking their shopping bags and putting the contents into her luggage or in the wardrobe. Constance helped her, while they talked about what they had seen, but also about the young man who would be assigned to them more frequently here. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. 

“Come in?” Anne said, and Feron entered. “Ah, Anne. I didn’t want to disturb you, I’m looking for Louis.” He wanted to retreat again, but Anne stopped him.

“He’s probably busy right now, but maybe I can help you?”

Ever since they had landed, Anne had felt a little neglected and overlooked. She was by no means a princess, but as her cousin he should have greeted her at least.

“I wanted to talk about a business matter with Louis, that’s all. I’ll just wait for him.”  
Once again, Anne stopped him, stubbornly preventing him from escaping. “If it’s a business matter, I can help you just as well. I am his CFO after all.”

Feron was unsure, but since he realized that Anne wouldn’t be so easily deterred, he stepped into the room, taking a seat beside Anne at the small table in her room. Constance retreated into the adjacent bedroom. If Feron was so unsure about Anne, he most probably wouldn’t want Constance listening in as well. And Anne would later tell her everything anyway. 

“Well, Anne, how nice that you got this position,” Feron said with a trace of condescension in his voice. “The project is going very well, I have been able to find a number of potential partners and managed to create some portfolios for the real estate.”

Anne wasn’t convinced. “I looked at the data sheets, and things could be better. It’s not  
possible to trace the money that was already spent.”

“But Anne, that’s no problem. We’re not so deep in trouble, the tax authority won’t investigate.”

“That’s not the problem here. Louis wants everything watertight and I see a lot of holes here.”  
Feron was definitely not a happy camper. “Anne, don’t worry your pretty little head about it, I will take care of everything.” He cleared his throat. “But now for something much more pleasant. I would like to invite you to a little welcome party at my humble abode. Just a few close friends will be there as well.”

“We will be delighted to come,” Anne said, ignoring the chauvinistic comment a few moments ago. 

Feron slowly rose to his feet, apparently due to his aching back, and left the room. Immediately, Constance came in from the bedroom. She had already heard a lot, so Anne just needed to fill in the rest. She quickly typed a mail to everybody, informing them about the party. 

“Constance, you need to dig deeper. I want to know what he knows. Actually, I want to know more than that. This time, I need to protect Louis before the fact. Feron might be family, but even as a child he used to scare the other kids away from the sandbox.”


	5. dark aura

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the big party is coming. Here are the outfits:   
> [Constance Outfit](https://pin.it/ob5kgbq73icga5)  
> [Anne Outfit](https://pin.it/hohazwpx566azj)  
> [Porthos Outfit](https://pin.it/vhwnwdrbflkv2g)  
> [Athos Outfit](https://pin.it/t3h3x3dqggudro)  
> [Aramis Outfit](https://pin.it/cr5ky7do5ivozo)  
> [D'artagnans Outfit](https://pin.it/jj32dzilsu7zq5)  
> And here is a picture of ferons Villa  
> [Ferons Villa](https://pin.it/4r6ztbyp7lvpyr)  
> I like Annes dress the most.   
> I hope in this chapter is more action for you guys.

Once Constance had finished helping Anne and they discussed everything they wanted, she went back to her room. When she tried to open the door, she encountered some resistance. With a little more force she managed to push the door open and found the culprit. Clothes had been strewn haphazardly across the floor and a heavy pair of jeans and an ankle boot had landed in front of the door, blocking it. Constance stepped into the room, collected the scattered clothes and placed them on the small sofa, before going over to the bed, where she found D’Artagnan on his back, eyes closed. 

“Hey you,” she greeted him. He blinked owlishly, but once he recognized the person standing in front of the bed, he relaxed and closed his eyes again. 

“So, there you are. I’ve been waiting for you.”  
Constance took off her shoes and lay down by his side, mindful of his wound. “I decided to help Anne for a little while,” she explained. D’Artagnan just nodded and put an arm around her. He pulled her close against his side and kissed her lips. Constance was more than happy to return it. 

“Hey,” he whispered, his voice so low and rough that it gave her goosebumps. “Hey,” she whispered back. Content with the situation, D’Artagnan laid his head back on the pillow and relaxed. Constance cuddled even closer and rested her head on his chest, her fingers tracing idle patterns on his stomach. The room was comfortably quiet. The sounds of the busy street below came in through the open balcony door, but they didn’t really care what went on down there. Now and again, D’Artagnan gently pushed a strand of hair out of her face, but other than that they were content just to lie beside each other. 

“How was your day?” D’Artagnan asked into the silence. Constance just hummed, but after a few seconds she got up the energy for a real answer. “Very nice. The city has a lot to offer. We did some shopping.” D’Artagnan grinned at that. “Then we went to the flower market, the beach and to the ruins and the chateau on top of the mountain.”

“Sounds like you had a busy day,” D’Artagnan said. Constance noticed how much it got to him that he couldn’t have been there with them. She had missed him all day as well, but since she had no idea, how to tell him to make it easier for him, she remained silent. Then she remembered something else.

“Feron has invited us for the evening. He hosts a welcome party at his estate and wants all of us to come.” This time it was D’Artagnan, who only grumbled. He wasn’t exactly fond of the idea of moving from this very comfortable bed for the rest of the day, much less letting Constance out of his arms.

“What? I know you don’t like events like that, but it was to be expected. He is Louis’ brother after all.”

He brushed a kiss on her forehead. “Yes, I know, but there’s more to it than that. Please be   
careful around him. I have a bad feeling when it comes to Feron.”

**********************************************************

The sun was sinking and the streets of Nice became more crowded. The days were very hot, so a lot of people only went outside once the sun had dropped below the horizon. Porthos and Athos were on their way to the hotel lobby. “Man, so much for taking a vacation. I should have stayed with Durrand, we have more work to do here than at home,” Porthos mock-complained. 

Athos just grumbled. Since the start of their journey and the encounter with his ex-wife his mood hadn’t improved. Porthos tried to cheer him up, but was unsuccessful. Athos took out his tablet and opened the map of Feron’s estate. Work had always been an effective distraction, Porthos thought. Both of them went over the potential danger spots and escape routes again. They were not familiar with the house and grounds, which made their job tonight more difficult, but on the other hand, it was what they had been trained for. Athos saved the map and forwarded it to Aramis and D’Artagnan. 

“Feron has chosen a pretty out-of-the-way spot, hasn’t he?” Porthos remarked, checking the route on Google Maps. Athos nodded. “Not exactly helpful for business and for working together with Anne and Louis. And he had been the one to suggest the hotel in Nice.” 

Porthos agreed. “Yes, as far as I know, Anne booked the hotel based on his suggestion, so he could have chosen something closer to his home. I don’t think this is the only hotel to meet Louis’ demands.” 

By now they had taken a seat at one of the tables in the lobby. Porthos had dressed up for the evening in black jeans and a black shirt, together with a light grey jacket. His belt, watch and shoes were also black. Athos had combined dark grey jeans with a black shirt and a darker grey jacket. His belt, shoes and watch were black as well.

***********************************

A few minutes later, D’Artagnan, Anne and Constance came down to the lobby. Since their rooms were on the same floor, they had met at the elevator. A little later, Aramis followed them as well. Almost everyone was assembled in the lobby now, some sitting at the small tables, others standing at the edges of the lobby, all waiting for Louis and his companion, who were, as usual, the last to arrive and kept everyone else waiting. 

Anne picked at her dress desultorily. She had chosen a kneelength, short-sleeved dress in dark green brocade with oriental looking embroidery in various shades of red and gold on the top and at the hemline, together with nude high-heeled pumps and a black Yves Saint Laurent clutch. Constance was wearing a light sleeveless silk dress with a v-neck and an allover print in azure, cream and fuchsia, with a small azure handbag and red patent leather high heels. 

Unnoticed by the others, Aramis went over to Anne. “You’re beautiful as always,” he murmured. As usual, Anne blushed. She hadn’t gotten used to Aramis’ admiring looks and compliments yet, and she doubted that she ever would. 

“I think you’re the only one who thinks so,” she said a little sadly. Aramis was surprised at her answer. “Why, who doesn’t?” 

“Feron, he barely talks to me, doesn’t really seem to see me and he hardly involves me in any business matters.”

Aramis wanted to reassure her. “I don’t think that’s it. Feron is very old school, he has a hard time getting his head around the idea that a woman can do the same job he does, and maybe even better and more efficiently. He needs time to get used to it. Give him a little time and don’t be deterred. If Louis doesn’t do it, fight for your position yourself.”

Anne wanted to answer, but at that moment, Louis and Milady arrived. Once again she looked stunning, with her dress and all the jewelry. At least Anne thought so. Aramis found it a little too flamboyant and overloaded, returning his gaze to Anne after a few seconds.

Happily, Louis marched ahead, and Treville and Athos had a hard time reaching the cars before him. They all got in and the small convoy was on its way to Feron’s estate, which lay in St. Tropez, on top of a hill, close to the sea. The drive took almost two hours due to the heavy traffic. 

**********************************************

After a rather exhausting drive, the convoy finally arrived at Feron’s estate. Apparently the party would be larger than they had thought, there was even valet parking. Athos and Porthos weren’t exactly fond of not knowing where their cars would be parked, but like everything else they had to handle this situation professionally. Led by Louis and Milady, the small group went into the house. 

Feron stood at the front door, welcoming every guest. “Ah, how nice that you all made it here. Please, come in. Louis, so glad you could come. I thought you’d travel with less bodyguards this evening, but apparently not.” He looked at everyone in turn and greeted some of them with a nod.

“My dear brother, a man of my social standing needs to have a certain entourage,” Louis said   
snobbishly, and regarded the other guests. 

“Come, I want to introduce you to some people, everybody who is anybody is here tonight,”   
Feron said, pulling his brother away from the entrance and deeper inside the house.

Treville and Porthos, who were responsible for the king’s security tonight, followed him. Milady did not seem too distressed by the absence of her lover and looked around by herself. 

Athos followed her. He still didn’t trust her and wanted to figure out her motives, which he could only do if he got close enough. 

D’Artagnan offered Constance his arm and led her into the small lobby. Constance couldn’t help admiring her companion. He was dressed to the nines in a tailored white shirt and a midnight blue suit of fine cotton with a simple, equally dark blue tie. To her, he looked suspiciously like James Bond. 

Anne still stood at the door, where Feron and Louis had left her like an unwanted parcel. Aramis felt very bad about the situation. He would have loved to thoroughly trounce Feron for it, if not worse. He did the only thing he could do and went over to her. “Would the lady accompany me inside?” he asked, offering her his arm like D’Artagnan had done earlier with Constance. Anne smiled at him and accepted gratefully and the two of them followed the others into the imposing home. 

*****************************************

Louis followed Feron, who, despite his handicap, moved pretty quickly. They went through the lobby and the large living room, back outside into the beautifully decorated garden, where paper lanterns had been hung in the palm trees and burning candles in large glass vessels were dotted across the lawn. Small groups of people had congregated around a number of bistro tables, talking to each other. On the patio, close to the house, a buffet had been set up. 

Feron led Louis to a small sofa group to the right of the pool and took a seat in one of the armchairs. Louis found a seat on one of the sofas, beside an elderly man. Immediately one of the servers appeared and brought drinks for Feron and Louis. 

“Louis, may I present the most important men at the Côte D’Azur?” Feron said. 

“Feron, you flatter us,” the youngest man of the group, who was sitting beside Feron, said.   
“Louis, this is Monsieur Mourlon. He’ll sell you everything that has so much as a foundation.   
He’s responsible for the most important real estate along the coast, he can make you any offer and he has a very extensive portfolio.” 

Louis nodded to Mourlon. Feron continued. “Monsieur Nicollier, our ‘money man’. Knows every bank and their employees. If you need a quick transfer, he can make it happen, and he also has experience with customs.” Louis briefly shook hands with the elderly man sitting beside him. 

“Monsieur Soulier, he’s in government and regularly lunches with the coastal town mayors, and can get you any authorizations in a timely manner. He’s our spokesperson for the region.” 

Louis greeted the man, who was sitting beside Mourlon, with a nod as well.  
Feron’s voice, which so far had been arrogant and overbearing, now became small and subservient. “And of course the honorable Guise family. They own half of the Côte D’Azur, and the better half at that,” Feron said, laughing lightly. The others joined him, but the members of the Guise family only smiled politely, as if at a young child, who had just made a joke but somewhat bungled the punchline. The others in the group noticed it, too and the laughter quickly died down. 

“Just a harmless joke, my dear friend, please excuse it. Monsieur Guise, his son, who works in the family company and of course the daughter, who just spends her semester break here at the coast.” 

Monsieur Guise stood up and extended his hand to Louis. Louis rose as well and shook hands with the man. The mood around the table, which had so far been rather relaxed, seemed to cool with Guise. The man really seemed to have the men under his thumb and was pulling the strings here. Louis was very adept at knowing when to show respect or command it. It was the only way to survive in Paris. With a snap of his fingers, he summoned Treville. “Treville, bring Anne here,” he ordered. Treville acknowledged and nodded to Porthos, who turned on his heel and went in search of Anne.

************************************************

Constance and D’Artagnan walked around the house, noticing that the first floor was cordoned off by security guards, only the ground floor was open to the guests. The estate was modelled after a Spanish hacienda, with rustic brick walls. Gold and brocade dominated the interior decoration and Constance and D’Artagnan found it a little too pompous. The chateau was furnished in a similar style, but the rooms there were much larger, more suited to such displays of splendor. They went outside into the garden and Constance headed straight for the buffet table. 

D’Artagnan followed her. The table was laden with a wide variety of delicacies, probably from a prestigious catering firm. Kaviar, lobster and the finest filet mignon could be found there, as well as a number of other specialties, and everything was decorated with edible gold flakes. 

Constance sampled some of the food. When she had finished, D’Artagnan asked her to dance. At first she was reluctant, but in the end she couldn’t resist. A little dance wouldn’t hurt him.   
The paper lanterns and candles, as well as the general atmosphere of the garden, created an almost magical feeling on the dance floor and she could get lost in D’Artagnan’s eyes, as he easily led her around. She had no idea, how he could constantly gaze into her eyes, yet still evade the other dancing couples. 

“Anne has given me an assignment,” Constance said. D’Artagnan raised an eyebrow. “An assignment? Aren’t you supposed to be on vacation?” 

“Nothing big, but it’s important.” Constance hesitated, but who could she trust if not him? “Like you, Anne doesn’t trust Feron, so she wants me to find out something about his partners. And most of all she is wondering what exactly he has been doing here for the past few months.”

D’Artagnan nodded. That sounded like Anne. He had already noticed that she was always thorough. 

“Also, she wants to know where all that money comes from. Just look at this party – did Louis’ money pay for it or Feron’s? We have to find out what happens with Louis’ money.”

“*We*?” D’Artagnan asked, impishly, and twirled her around in a circle. 

“Well, Anne and I.”

“And how about the two of us take care of it? Your knowledge and my experience.”  
Constance thought hard about it. It was her job, her assignment, and D’Artagnan still wasn’t fully recovered. 

“It would give us more time together….” he whispered into her ear, His body was dangerously close, making it difficult for her to think clearly. Her breathing quickened and her heart was beating loudly. Unfortunately, he knew exactly what effect he had on her. “Okay,” she managed to get out and D’Artagnan grinned victoriously.

**************************************

Athos was hidden behind a large pillar, munching on one of the pastries. He was still watching the new paramour of his boss. She was talking to a couple of men. Correction: *she* was talking and the men hung on her lips like lovestruck puppies. It was clear that she wasn’t really interested in them, since they were too insignificant for her plans. 

However, his hiding place wasn’t very effective, she had noticed him lurking in the shadows, watching her, a while ago. He used to be better than that. Quickly, she turned away from the men she had been talking to, and went over to the buffet. She had become bored with them anyway. 

Athos, who had finished the last of his pastries, stood beside her. “What do you want?”  
“Well, since the caviar is not exactly the quality I am used to, I think I’ll have to make do with the lobster.”

“You know exactly what I meant.”

Milady smiled slightly. She still knew which buttons to push with him. “I look after myself and Louis is the best choice.”   
“As usual,” Athos grumbled. 

“You don’t believe me?” she asked, pretending to be shocked.  
“I think it’s just half of the truth.”

“Well, as hard as it may be for you, the world doesn’t only revolve around dear Athos, the rest of us exist too. And we’re much better off without you.” Milady turned around and headed back to the other guests. “By the way, how’s Jeany? I haven’t seen her here yet. I hope you haven’t just left her behind, we both know that’s how you usually treat your women,” she added in passing. 

Athos was somewhat shocked. Where in blazes had she gotten that information?

***********************************

Aramis and Anne were standing off to the side, watching the dancing couples, especially Constance and D’Artagnan. Aramis was just about to ask Anne for a dance, when Porthos appeared, ruining Aramis’ chances for a dance. “Sorry to disturb you,” Porthos said, looking mostly at Aramis, who threw him a look that could have felled an ox. 

“Madame, Louis would like to see you, apparently it involves some business matters.” Anne nodded and left. Aramis followed her with his eyes. 

“Sorry, man, there was nothing I could do,” Porthos said, patting his friends shoulder. Aramis didn’t answer. “Come on, there will be another opportunity.”

**************************************

D’Artagnan and Constance took a break from dancing and had gotten something to drink from the improvised bar. Now they were standing off to the side, where they had a clear view of the other guests. “This really is the creme de la creme. Feron has a lot of contacts and connections,” Constance noted. D’Artagnan nodded.

Constance was pulled into a discussion with a couple of bank employees. As usual, D’Artagnan stood directly behind her. He was looking around, memorizing the layout. Long training in the military and a large number of assignments had made it almost a habit. He also checked out the first floor windows. If they needed information, Feron was sure to keep it somewhere close. And the security on the upper floor alone suggested that there had to be something worth protecting up there. 

**********************************

Meanwhile, Anne had found Louis and joined the group of men. Feron didn’t really like it, but he couldn’t say something in front of the others and especially Louis. 

“Messieurs, may I present my cousin. She has recently taken over very successfully as head of my financial business in Paris, and is one of my closest advisors. Beside her position as CFO she is also my representative,” Louis introduced her.

Anne was proud, that Louis appreciated her work so much and had introduced her with her title and responsibilities. She shook hands with each of the men. Mourlon was a young real estate broker. It was clear to see how fresh and ambitious he still was, although she couldn’t say if this also entailed inexperience and rash decisions. Anyway, he seemed to be open to new ideas.

Monsieur Soulier, with nearing sixty a man of more advanced years, kept looking at her. He was rather creepy, cultivating a mysterious aura, like a true statesman. He was responsible for this region and personally knew a lot of politicians as well as the mayors. Nicollier, the third man, was the oldest, with grey hair and a reserved, almost submissive posture. He was responsible for finances, which explained his tendency for caution. Next her eyes wandered to the Guise family. The daughter had already left, apparently the discussions were too boring for her. That left just the son and the father. Anne wasn’t sure what to make of them yet. It was clear they weren’t just any family, they had influence, especially over the other men at the table, and that included Feron. There was a kind of dark aura around them.

Louis and Feron started discussing future plans, and this time Anne was included.   
“I like your plans, Feron, our coast must become more attractive, number one for the wealthy guests,” Mourlon said. 

“And we can provide protection, for a fee of course.” Nicollier also saw some potential.  
“Our own security force,” Guise junior added. Ah, so they were talking protection money, just like in Paris and Fontainebleau, Anne thought, but she didn’t say anything. She wanted to collect enough information to get an overview of the situation. She wasn’t opposed to a small   
sum for protection. At the end of the day, she was a businesswoman, and that way innocent people could be protected from violence as well.

****************************

Porthos had left Aramis to his own devices and was headed back to Treville, with a little detour to Athos. Once he noticed the bad mood his friend was in, but that the man wasn’t likely to get himself into trouble, he went on. In a narrow spot he lightly bumped into someone. Before he could even start to apologize, he was roughly pushed back. 

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” the man growled. Porthos was slightly reeling from the force of the push and had to take a step back to regain his balance, before he confronted his attacker. He hadn’t really be prepared for a confrontation, his size usually made people get out of this way. Porthos stared angrily at the impertinent man. He certainly wasn’t arrogant and he was well aware that he wasn’t on his home turf, like in Paris or Fontainebleau. He was a stranger here and he knew how to behave, and not only due to Treville’s briefing. 

“You damn Parisian dog! Think you own this city? This coast? No, this is our turf, so get out of my way and remember, where you belong. On the street.” The man clearly referred to Porthos’ ancestry. Only the color of his skin still hinted at that and it had been a long time since Porthos had heard an insult like that. This was going too far. He could ignore almost everything, but slurs on his ancestry, that was a red line that was not to be crossed. 

Without another word, Porthos hit the other man full in the face. For a moment, the people around them, including the man’s friends, were too surprised to react, but after that all hell broke loose. The others tackled Porthos, who managed to fight off some of them. Athos, who had already anticipated that, waded in to help him. From a distance, he saw Aramis racing over as well and heard Treville call out. “Porthos!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think about the chapter? Did you liked it? Also thank you to Sigmund, Hsg, SerenJ and LadyNeve for the comments. So appreciated. And much thanks to Sigmund for the kudo.


	6. Ferons Second in Command

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the big Cliffhanger wit Porthos, the story continues.   
> Here is a picture of the beach:  
> [Nice Beach](https://pin.it/le6lkmepkvzyxx)  
> And the outfits:   
> [Constance](https://pin.it/ucapmwprxyxjts)  
> [Anne](https://pin.it/5355rfs3pb75ec)

Last time in chapter 5:

Without another word, Porthos hit the other man full in the face. For a moment, the people around them, including the man’s friends, were too surprised to react, but after that all hell broke loose. The others tackled Porthos, who managed to fight off some of them. Athos, who had already anticipated that, waded in to help him. From a distance, he saw Aramis racing over as well and heard Treville call out. “Porthos!”

With the help of his friends Porthos managed to fight off the rest of his attackers and could concentrate on the impudent stranger in front of him and threw a series of well-aimed punches at the man. Unlike his opponent – and although the undignified brawl suggested otherwise – Porthos was completely sober, so his punches were designed to hurt, but not to cause any lasting damage. At the same time, he easily managed to evade the stranger’s uncoordinated attacks. 

Suddenly someone slammed a chair into his back from behind. Porthos’ legs buckled slightly under the impact and briefly reached back to the hurt area with a frown. His opponent took the opportunity to use his remaining strength for a kick to Porthos’ stomach. Porthos stumbled back against a table. Reaching behind him, he grabbed a bowl of some delicacy or other and hurled it at his opponent. Evading the flying object took a few seconds and Porthos used the distraction to take a flying leap and tackle the man to the ground, where he had the advantage now. 

Meanwhile, Aramis and Athos had managed to subdue the man’s friends and now turned to the main combatants. Since the stranger had taken quite a number of hits and lay bleeding on the ground, Aramis was able to separate him from Porthos, despite his still healing ribs. Once Porthos realized that it was Athos pulling him back, he, too, calmed down. 

During the whole incident, every one of the king’s men had done their job, except for Porthos   
of course. But they had an unwritten, but ironclad rule: one for all and all for one. They stuck together, if Porthos had disregarded a direct order. Aramis and Athos had immediately had his back.

The other security guards had stayed with Treville and the king and had kept an eye on the surroundings, to guard against unforeseen attacks. D’Artagnan had stayed with Constance and Anne, together with Marc and Henry. His injury prevented him from actively joining in a fight, but he could still carry a gun and give orders to the two younger men. 

Treville came over to them, with Feron following behind. Feron threw the man a look filled with such hatred that Porthos was impressed, since he had expected that he himself would be the target of Feron’s anger. 

“Messieurs, I apologize for my associate. One would think that the head of one’s own security had better manners. May I present Lucien Grimaud, who in addition is also my second-in-command.”Athos took a closer look at the brawler, Grimaud. Aramis and Porthos regarded the man as well. Grimaud did not look like a businessman, with his longer hair, dark clothes and a long scar on his face. A hatchet man would be a more fitting description. 

“Well, brother, I think we’ve met enough people for today, so we’ll take our leave now. Au revoir.”Louis, who had also joined the group and who, unlike Feron, did not seem to be displeased with his men, shook his brother’s hand and turned towards the door, reaching out his arm and asking Milady to come to his side, and she promptly complied.

*******************************************

After the exhausting day and eventful evening, everyone was too tired to do more than drop into bed. Tonight, there would be no more meetings, briefings or any other kind of work. 

Even Treville only scheduled the night watch before he went to bed.

D’Artagnan accompanied Constance to her room. Of course, he would once again spend the night with her, even though Treville would probably frown upon it. But since the man wasn’t likely to notice it, it was a small risk to take. Exhausted, the two of them just fell into bed.   
D’Artagnan was almost asleep, when Constance lightly shook him awake again. 

“Mhmmmmm…what do you want?” he grumbled.  
“How are we going to do it?” Constance asked. At first, he had no clue what she meant. Then he remembered. Of course, she was excited and wanted to make a plan. So he sat up again, leaning his back against the headboard of the bed. “Tonight, the house will be empty, Feron will be out to dinner.”

“How do you know that?” Constance asked, confused. She hadn’t expected an opportunity to present itself quite so quickly. “Heard it today. This isn’t my first break-in, you know,” D’Artagnan answered, affectionately ruffling her hair. She squirmed away. “Break-in? We never spoke about a break-in…”

“How else do you want to get information? Tonight, the first floor in the back part of the house was guarded as if they were hiding the crown jewels there. That can’t be a coincidence. And if you want to find out something about Feron and his cronies, the best way is to go through his stuff.”

That sounded logical, but Constance was still reluctant. “We can’t break in there. You said yourself that the house is heavily guarded. I have never done something like that before, we’re sure to get caught and then what?” she asked, giving him a challenging look.

D’Artagnan pulled her closer and gently blew through her hair. “One: we won’t get caught. Two: you have a professional at your side. And three: there’s a first time for everything.” He almost had her convinced, he could feel it. Even if she didn’t realize it, to him she was an open book, the way she snuggled against him, gently caressing his chest. It would only take a few more arguments. “We’ll just take a look around. Just on the first and second floor, nothing more. We’ll be long gone before Feron gets back. Promise.” He gave her a heartfelt kiss for emphasis. When they separated again, she was slightly out of breath.

“So, you master spy, how are we going to get inside then? Didn’t you see the entrance gates?”  
D’Artagnan nodded, he had already thought about that himself. They couldn’t go in through the atrium. It was too high and with his still healing injury, he couldn’t risk it. Moreover, it would have been difficult enough even for him and Constance had no experience with things like that. Going in through the front door wasn’t an option either. He had managed to get a quick look at the alarm system and it wasn’t one that could be circumvented easily. At least, not without involving Nathan, which he had no intention of doing. “That leaves only the garage. Usually a place that’s overlooked when it comes to security. I didn’t see an alarm system there. A lot of homeowners think if you can’t get into the house, you won’t try the garage either, so they try to save there. This will be our entry point.”

Constance was glad that she had told him of her assignment. She needed to trust his expertise, since she wouldn’t have thought about doing it this way, much less how to accomplish it. In the end, D’Artagnan was right, this was the quickest way to get as much information as possible. And that’s what she wanted, wasn’t it? Then why did she have such a sense of foreboding?

**********************************

Anne was accompanied to her room by her companion as well. During the elevator ride, there was silence between them, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Aramis thought about this Grimaud guy. He looked decidedly shady and not at all like a businessman.

Anne, on the other hand, thought about the night ahead and it gave her goosebumps. She dreaded being alone again. The nightmares had returned, now that Aramis didn’t stay with her anymore. But how could she tell him… She didn’t want to seem clingy or demanding. 

The doors opened and Aramis walked ahead. The closer she got to the door of her suite, the slower Anne walked. Aramis turned around when he noticed that she was no longer walking beside him, but trailing a few steps behind. “Anne, what’s wrong?” She lowered her eyes to the ground. 

“Anne?” Now Aramis was getting worried. He walked back to her and put his hands on her shoulders. Noticing just how much she was trembling, he pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her. Pressed against his chest, Anne immediately felt safer. “Stay with me tonight,” she whispered.

“Anything you want,” Aramis answered. How could he deny her wish? They separated again, but walked closely together, his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist. Anne unlocked the door and they went inside the suite. 

They made themselves comfortable and lay down on the bed together. She put her head on his chest and he dreamily ran his fingers through her hair. “Did you see? Louis has finally noticed me again. He even introduced me to the men as his representative!” Anne said delightedly.

Aramis grinned. “See, I told you, he knows exactly what he has in you.” “Yes, but the last three days…, actually ever since the incident, he had locked me out.”

Aramis stopped his ministrations, when she mentioned that point, but quickly continued. “We all had to come to terms with what happened. Louis has suffered a lot. Not physically, but he   
feels a lot of guilt.”

Anne nodded. She understood, but at the same time, she was filled with pride now. Finally, they were all happy. Constance was officially together with D’Artagnan, and she herself and Aramis were happier than ever. “So, who were these men, that Louis just had to introduce you to, and made me miss dancing with you?”

“They are pulling the strings when it comes to real estate, finances and local government. Oh, and members of the Guise family.” “Did you say Guise?” Aramis stopped moving again and this time he did not continue. Anne noticed and sat up, so that she could look into his eyes. 

“Yes, Guise senior, as well as his son and daughter were there. Do you know him?”  
Aramis didn’t answer, just pulled her gently down, so that she was lying on his chest again. They stayed like that for a while. Anne was curious and would have liked an answer, but she knew that Aramis wouldn’t say anything.

************************************

Milady and Louis got out of the car and practically raced back to their hotel suite, unable to keep their hands off each other. Milady pushed Louis down onto the bed and started to undress. Clad only in her underwear she stood in front of the bed, arms akimbo. “What is it, mon amour?” Louis asked.

“So, how was your evening? Since you left me alone, I had to find some amusement all by myself.”

Louis leaned up on his elbows and tried to pull her to him, but with a lascivious movement, she evaded him. “Just some business matters, nothing interesting. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it. Come, I will amuse you now.”

Milady wasn’t really satisfied with that. “I think I’ll freshen up first,” she said, leaving him lying on the bed, as she went into the bathroom and locking the door behind her. Louis, who was used to such behavior, dropped back down on the bed. This woman was in a class all of her own, but that’s what made her so interesting. 

******************************************

Milady took a small burner phone from an inside pocket of her beauty case and pressed a speed-dial button. After two rings someone on the other end picked up. Without waiting for a greeting, Milady started to speak. “We were at a party at his brother’s house tonight. He met with representatives of the government, finances and real estate there.” She listened silently for a moment, turning even further away from the door separating her from the bedroom and Louis. 

“He also introduced his cousin officially as his representative. There was also a family named Guise, the senior, the son and the daughter there.” She stopped speaking for a moment, but when no comment came from the other side of the line, she continued. “Apparently, they weren’t talking about anything important, just plans to make the Côte D’Azure more secure, with their own security force and revenue.” She waited for a moment, before she ended the call.

She ran the water for a moment and looked at herself in the mirror, and then went back to Louis. He had already poured some champagne and she accepted a glass. “So, how do you want to amuse me now?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

*******************************************

When Aramis woke up the next morning, he reached out to find Anne, but the large bed was empty. He sat up and looked around. A slight breeze blew in through the open balcony door, making the white curtains flutter. He flipped back the covers and got up. 

Anne stood on the balcony, looking into the distance, the breeze lightly ruffling her thin nightgown. When he got closer, he saw that she had a report in her hands. “You’re working again. You’re supposed to be on vacation,” he said, wrapping his arms around her from behind. He wanted to take the report from her, but she squirmed away. “You know me, I’m just checking things.”

“Okay, I’ll give you another ten minutes, while I have breakfast sent up.” Aramis knew he couldn’t stop her from working, but he could make sure that she ate something. He went   
back inside and called room service. 

*********************************

Aramis had left after breakfast and Anne reached for the documents again, when Constance came in. “Hey, you. No, put that down, I’m warning you. We, meaning you and I, are on vacation, at least most of the time, and we’re going to the beach today,” Constance said determinedly, putting special emphasis on the “we”. 

Anne couldn’t say no. “Actually, we should be working, Constance, but you’re right, we deserve a little time off. So, let’s go.”

Constance had put on a serious expression, to make it clear that she wouldn’t take no for an answer, but now she was smiling again. She was already dressed for the beach in a white chemise dress. Through the thin material, a dark blue bikini with small printed white anchors was visible. Suntan lotion, a book and other little odds and ends had found a place in a dark blue Longchamps shopper. White flip-flops and brown Ray Ban sunglasses tucked into her hair completed the outfit. While Anne got dressed, Constance tidied up the papers on the table.

Once Anne was ready, dressed also in a white chemise dress with little gemstones around the neckline and a blue and white strapless bikini, with a straw hat to protect her fair skin, and a turquoise raffia bag, they left the hotel. On the way to the beach, they met Athos. He couldn’t let them go alone, so he assigned Henry, Marc and two additional men to them. 

On the beach, Anne and Constance rented deckchairs and placed their towels on them, before taking off their chemises and relaxing. Their guards had taken up their position a little higher up on the beach, keeping an eye on the surroundings. 

Anne and Constance had a wonderful time at the beach, reading, listening to music and occasionally going into the water. In the afternoon they played volleyball with a group of tourists.

********************************

Louis spent the day on the rooftop terrace, with Milady at his side except for an occasional dip in the pool. Around lunchtime he had to leave her for a little while and she waved at him, as he went back to their suite, where Treville was already waiting for him, expectantly.   
“Treville, thank you for coming.”

“Of course, Sire, what can I do for you?”

“This man, Guise, do you know him? I haven’t heard of him. Apparently, he owns half of the coast,” Louis said, with a stern look. “I am not going to compete with someone like him. 

Fontainebleau and Paris belong to me, and the coast will also be mine. So, I want to know absolutely everything about Guise by tomorrow.”

Treville nodded. When Louis was in such a mood, it was better not to argue with him. 

“Send your best people. I want results,” Louis said, turning back to the door. “Nobody is better than I and nobody has more power and influence.”

*************************************

“Interesting. Did you know about the girl and the bodyguard? And they’re supposed to be a threat? Women only want one thing anyway.” Grimaud said in an armchair in the darkened room, together with Feron. Around them, a couple of computers and servers had been set up. Grimaud was about to continue, but Feron raised his hand to stop him. 

“Don’t underestimate Anne. Victor has already made the same mistake. But you’re right. Make a note of that, I want more evidence on the two of them. Photos, preferably.” Grimaud nodded. “And what are we going to do about the other two lovebirds?”

“Well, let them feel secure. Hide everything of importance in my office and leave a few false clues. We’ll catch them red handed.” Grimaud knew, that Feron planned something. “They’ll get a nasty surprise, thinking they can just break into your place.”

“Good, then go now. I will take care of Guise.” Grimaud was a little affronted at being sent off, but he left, closing the door behind him. Once Grimaud had left, Feron called Guise. “You seem to have ruffled Louis’ feathers, he wants to push you out of the business, so be careful.”

“Thanks, old friend,” Guise answered. “We had already suspected something like that and we’ll be prepared.”

“A man named Aramis is one of his closest bodyguards. You should keep an eye on him,” Feron said, not without an ulterior motive, not mentioning Athos, Porthos and D’Artagnan.   
During the talk between Anne and Aramis he had noticed the reaction, or rather the lack   
thereof. There had to be a story there. 

Guise thanked him for the heads up and ended the call, not letting anything slip either.

************************

Treville had called together all his men in a conference room. They were lined up like soldiers on a parade ground, waiting for their boss and his next orders. Athos, Aramis, D’Artagnan and Porthos, the latter sporting a black eye, were in the front line.

“I am very disappointed. I have asked all of you to be on your best behavior. You are representing the king and his family on foreign territory. And then I have to witness a brawl at a party given in honor of the king.” Guiltily, the four men lowered their eyes to the floor. They knew, Porthos most of all, that what they had done, had been wrong. 

“Professionality, that’s what I want to see from now on. Strict professionality,” Treville said, giving each of the men a stern look. “Nathan.” Nathan looked up. Had he done something wrong? He wasn’t aware of any mistake. “Nathan, could you stay behind, please? The others can go.” While the other men left, Nathan and the four brawlers remained in the room. 

“Nathan, Louis has ordered me to collect information about Guise. Before Treville could say anything else, Nathan already knew what was expected of him. “I’ll hack their system.”

Treville nodded. As strange as the young man might seem, you could count on him. Nathan immediately powered up his laptop and started typing. Porthos, Aramis, D’Artagnan and Treville left him to it. Athos took a seat opposite him, drinking a coke. “Aren’t you going to leave?” Nathan asked, glancing at Athos, as he broke through the firewall. 

“Someone needs to give the information to Treville and this way I can help you decide what is important and what isn’t,” Athos answered. Before Nathan could say anything else, the laptop screen showed a warning message. “Shit!” Nathan cursed. Athos jumped up. “What?”

“That can’t be. No, that just can’t be,” Nathan stammered. “What just can’t be?? Nathan, talk to me!” After a few seconds, that seemed more like hours to Athos, Nathan leaned back again. “Phew, that was close,” “Nathan….” Athos all but growled, his patience at an end.

“I wanted to get into the system, but when I broke through the firewall…anyway, long story short, we have been attacked. That is, our system has been attacked.” “We were hacked?” 

Athos was not quite certain of the terminology.” “Yes, we were hacked. I have been able to prevent it, but I couldn’t get any information either.”

Athos fell back into his chair. “And do you know where the attack came from? Was it Guise?” Nathan shook his head. “No, I can’t say. He covered his tracks pretty well. All I know is that the attack came from Saint Tropez.” “Saint Tropez, you say? Could also be that Grimaud then.”

Nathan nodded, leaning forward on the table again. “You want me to dig a little deeper?” Athos nodded. “Yes, do that, but be careful, our system is too important.”

*****************************

D’Artagnan and Constance met in the hotel backyard. The employee’s shift had just changed, so it was very quiet there. “Are you ready?” D’Artagnan asked.

“I’m terribly nervous,” Constance admitted. They were both dressed in comfortable, black clothes. D’Artagnan held out his hand and led Constance to a dark limousine. He had chosen a nondescript car with a powerful engine for the occasion. He held the door for her and Constance got into the passenger seat. D’Artagnan leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. 

“You’ll see, everything will be alright,” he said, and closed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So at the end I wanna say thank you to Hsg for the comment and the idea to post also Miladys outfit; also big thank ou to Lady_Neve and to the two guest who left kudos.


	7. The dark of the night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the best chapter so far, I hope you all will be satisfied with the action and the tension. Pictures of Ferons Villa and also the floorplan are below. I guess, this will help to understand better the situation.  
> [Ferons Villa+Interieur](https://pin.it/feqji3bhnpx3ct)  
> [Ferons Villa](https://pin.it/vi76morhvnu6a5)  
> [ground plan](https://pin.it/l6a7n2p67v6kef)  
> 1 - Garage  
> 2 - roofless Atrium  
> 3 - Living und Dinnerroom  
> 4 - two floors (grpundfloor Salon, first floor office)  
> 5 - kitchen

The car drove down the asphalt road along the coast, back to the house, where they had been guests only yesterday. Constance kept glancing out of the window, clenching her hands in her dark jeans. D’Artagnan kept his eyes on the road, but he noticed her increased stiffness.  
He took his hand off the steering wheel, placed it on hers and softly stroked her clenched fingers. Constance relaxed slightly and took a deep breath. 

“Constance, please, it will be okay, I promise. Just remember, you’re doing this for Anne.”  
“Yes, I know, but what if something does go wrong? Your injury still isn’t completely healed, and here I am, taking you with me,” Constance answered, feeling guilty.

“No, you’re wrong, *I’m* taking *you* with me, not the other way around.”  
“D’Artagnan, please.”

He grinned briefly, then became serious again. “Listen, I know the risk, and I can’t let you do this alone. I have much more experience in such things, and that makes up for my handicap. As long as I don’t have to go toe to toe with a sumo ringer, I’ll manage.”

He had to chuckle at the image of a sumo ringer at Feron’s estate, but Constance didn’t feel like laughing. She looked out the window again. They were almost in Saint Tropez and all she could do was pray that everything would be okay.

Shortly before they reached Feron’s house, D’Artagnan let go of her hands and turned off the headlights. Unnoticed by his beloved, he put a hand to his wound. The dull throbbing had increased over the past few hours and he should be resting. However, his honor and his love for Constance gave him strength. He would get through this. Constance needed him now.

He drove past the estate, making sure to keep his speed slow, but constant. He tried to watch for bodyguards or a security service, but seen from the outside, the estate appeared dark and deserted. That was one thing that could work to their advantage.  
“D’Artagnan, you’ve gone past it,” Constance said. 

“I know, we’ll park one street over.” Constance just nodded, once again glad that he was with her. His experience and knowledge were crucial to their plan.  
“Everything looks dark,” D’Artagnan said, sounding worried all of a sudden.  
“Now who’s nervous?” Costance teased.

D’Artagnan quickly banished the thought running through his mind and parked the car. They got out and while Constance looked around, D’Artagnan fetched a small carryall from the trunk.  
“Huh, what do you need that for?” Constance asked.

“This will get us inside, and if we find something, we can download or copy it or take it with us.”  
Constance nodded. He really was very experienced in such matters. Must be the military training, she thought. 

Of course, D’Artagnan hadn’t told her, just how many of Louis’ competitors he and his three friends had already robbed, stolen from or done even worse things. A simple break-in was routine for him. At the end of the day, Louis was just a man who loved power, and his four best men provided that, sometimes even with not quite legal means.

They stole into the front yard. D’Artagnan had already noticed from the car that no guards were posted there. He didn’t see any cameras either, but he had already expected that. Feron lived in a very quiet part of town, where you didn’t need to have cameras posted there already. They went past the front door and headed for the garage. 

When they had reached the small door set into the larger garage door, he knelt down and had to suppress a groan. His wound apparently didn’t like that movement. He blocked out the burning sensation and reached for the necessary tools. As he had already thought, it was easy to unlock the door and they could pass through it without a problem. 

Inside the garage, they passed a black Audi and an equally black Mercedes. The connecting door to the main house wasn’t locked, so they could just go through. Constance all but expected to hear an alarm when D’Artagnan pressed down the door handle, but nothing happened.  
“See, I told you. Child’s play,” D’Artagnan said.

Constance was impressed. Burglary should not be a quality that distinguished a man, but the sight of him standing in the door, dressed all in black and with that superior grin on his face, could have tempted a saint, and she certainly wasn’t one of those. But she couldn’t think like that now, not when they had a mission to accomplish.

The house was completely dark and so quiet that they hardly dared to breathe. Every now and again the sound of a passing car could be heard from outside, but that was all. Last night, it had been so lively, with the music sounding all through the house, guests congregating in every corner and servants moving around between them. Here and there, candles had been placed in little nooks and on the ground. Without all that the house seemed bare and empty, like a haunted house. 

D’Artagnan shouldered the bag and glanced left and right. “Okay, we’re in. Come on, we’ll start searching down here.” Constance nodded. D’Artagnan moved on and of course Constance followed him. 

“Constance, we’ll be faster if we split up,” he said, amused at her naivete, which he hadn’t noticed before. But then, this was her first break-in. 

“You’re right, of course. Then I’ll go over there,” she said, pointing in the opposite direction. 

**************************************

“Anne, where is Constance?” Treville asked, wondering why the blonde woman had come without her best friend. Aramis and Anne had arrived at the rooftop terrace five minutes ago. Treville, Henry, Marc and Porthos were already waiting for them there, since they wanted to have dinner together. 

“She sends her regrets, she wants to have an early night.”

“Probably the heat,” Porthos said and the others nodded. It was much warmer here on the coast than at home in Fontainebleau and they all had to get used to it. Before any more questions could be asked, the waiters appeared and handed the menus around. They all selected something and the waiters relayed their order to the kitchen. A few minutes later, the wine was served. “My cousin and his companion seem to send their regrets as well,” Anne remarked, but no one reacted.

Aramis and Porthos exchanged a look, glad that their friend Athos wasn’t present. 

“Madame, did you enjoy the beach?” Porthos asked, turning the talk to a more pleasant topic. Anne and the others immediately went along with it. “It was wonderful. The beach was rather crowded, it seems to be very popular. The water was nice and cool, and very clear, absolutely beautiful.”

Marc and Henry nodded. “Anything out of the ordinary?” Treville asked, once again fixed on his job as captain. “No, sir, nothing. Everything was quiet,” Marc reported.

“Captain, I don’t think we should talk about this over dinner.” Aramis and Porthos were not used to something like that from their boss. Usually, business matters were never discussed in the presence of their charges. 

Treville relented immediately. “Of course, please excuse me.” He stood up, placed his napkin on his empty plate and left. The others watched him go with a worried expression. Porthos once again tried to lighten the mood. “So, what did you at the beach?” he asked, focusing everyone’s attention again. Anne thought for a moment and started to talk. “Well, first we….”

***********************************

Constance searched through the eastern part of the house, while D’Artagnan had taken the western part. The main part of the house, where they were now, was in the middle. It was built around a glass-walled atrium furnished with a few lawn chairs and small side tables. It looked quite nice with the moonlight shining down on it. 

The front left part was the garage, with a connecting door to the house. A building at the rear on that side contained a kitchen, which could be separated from the main house. A little strange, but D’Artagnan had seen something like this in other noble houses. Apparently, wealthy people didn’t like the smell of cooking in their rooms, so they kept the kitchen separate from the rest of the building. And since they usually had servants, they hardly ever came into the kitchen themselves. 

In the back left part was another extension of the main house, which had been added at a later date. On the ground floor it was a covered patio. They had no idea what the room was used for on the first floor, but D’Artagnan assumed that it would be the Feron’s office.

They were both still searching the ground floor. Constance was very tentative, always trying to put everything back the way she had found it. D’Artagnan was less scrupulous. He knew that in a house like this, small changes wouldn’t be noticed. He searched every inch, including some unusual places. They found a few slips of paper, but they were only unimportant notes, bills or orders. After an hour they met up at the atrium.  
“Find anything?”

“Nothing. Did you?” D’Artagnan asked. Constance shook her head. 

“Merde…There aren’t any technical devices, either. No laptop, no tablet, not even a cellphone,” D’Artagnan said. This was highly unusual. Desperately, he looked around again, hoping to find something they had overlooked in their search. 

“Well, he probably takes his cellphone with him,” Constance said, trying to find an explanation.  
“Yes, but a laptop, a business phone…..this is very mysterious.”

“Maybe we’ll find something in the garden. My grandmother always hid her jewelry in the garden shed,” Constance suggested, and started moving. 

D’Artagnan grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards him.  
“D’Artagnan, we don’t have time for that.”

“Well, *that* wasn’t my intention, although I always want to kiss you,” he said, giving her a quick, fleeting kiss, before he continued. “We can’t go out into the garden, it’s well-lighted and the neighbors would see us. And we’d leave footprints in the soil, you don’t want that to happen.”

Constance shook her head, angry with herself. She wasn’t usually that naive and careless. 

“Maybe we’ll find something in his office on the first floor,” D’Artagnan suggested, pointing to the stairs at the other end of the room. Constance looked at the stairs. “Okay, then let’s go,” she said, walking ahead. D’Artagnan grinned. He’d make a dyed-in-the-wool burglar of her yet, he thought proudly, following her. Before she could set foot on the first step, he stopped her. Constance looked at him questioningly. “They might have some extra security measures or sensors here,” D’Artagnan said. He checked the walls, but found nothing. He nodded at her and they went slowly up the stairs. All the while, he kept an eye on suspicious points on the wall, but still found nothing. 

Constance kept looking out as well, although she had no idea for what. At the top of the stairs, they found a large room, darkened by the drawn curtains. On one side were ceiling-high black shelves filled with books that looked like they had never been read or even touched. When they walked further into the room, something squeaked beneath their feet. 

Apparently, someone had laid down an old hardwood floor, which made entering the room silently almost impossible. The closed curtains allowed only a sliver of moonlight to enter the room, so it was hard to see anything. Something reached for Constance’s shoulder and she startled. Before she could make a sound, however, D’Artagnan had put his hand over her mouth. “Shh, I just wanted to hand you a flashlight,” he whispered, handing her the item.  
“Sorry,” Constance said, taking the flashlight and switching it on. 

“It’s okay, nothing happened. Okay, you’ll search the desk and the bureau beside it, I’ll take the bookshelves.”

******************************************

Athos knocked on the door, but no one opened. He knocked again, a little louder. “Captain, it’s me, Athos. Are you there?” Now he could hear footsteps in the room and the door was opened.  
“Athos?”

“Yes, Captain, I have already knocked twice.”  
“Sorry, I was in thought. What is it?” Treville asked, stepping aside to let Athos enter.

“Nathan wanted to get the information directly from the Guise’s servers, but before he could get around the security measures, our system was attacked. He could repel it, but I thought I should bring the matter to your attention.” Treville didn’t seem to really listen. When Athos fell silent, he just nodded, but did not look at him again. 

“Nathan does all he can to prevent this from happening again,” Athos continued. 

“Very good, very good,” Treville said, but it was just another evasive comment. Athos didn’t mention that the attack came from Saint Tropez. Treville had hardly taken note of the first point, telling him further details would accomplish nothing, and that had Athos really worried.

“Treville, I will take my leave now,” he said, waiting a moment, before he turned to the door. Treville was still looking into the distance. “Treville?”

“Yes, yes, you do that,” Treville just waved him off and turned to a small desk. Athos left, worried.  
In the corridor, he met Porthos. 

“Hey, man, we missed you at dinner, where have you been?” Porthos asked.  
“We had problems gathering information. I just wanted to report to the captain, but he didn’t even listen to me. I’ve never seen him like that,” Athos replied.

Porthos shrugged. “Maybe he’s just tired. This trip is a 24/7 job and he’s getting a little long in the tooth.” The last sentence was said with a smile on his lips. 

“Mhmmm…” Athos just mumbled. Porthos knew that Athos was a man of few words. They both went their separate ways, Porthos to relieve one of the guards in front of Louis’ room, and Athos back to Nathan.

***************************************

On the way to Louis’ room, Porthos ran into Marc and Henry in the elevator. “Well, the two of you are all dressed up.”

“Yes, we have the evening off,” Marc said, defensive. Henry remained calm. “We’re going into town for a while. See if Nice can keep up with Paris.”

Porthos clapped Marc on the shoulder, making the younger man’s knees buckle slightly. “Man, I’d like to come with you, but I’m on duty.” He got off on the top floor and waved goodbye to the other two.

*******************************

“What did the captain say?” Nathan asked Athos.  
“Just do your job.”

Nathan rolled his eyes. Athos often spoke like that, but so far only to the others, never to Nathan. While he typed, he continued thinking about Treville and now Athos as well. Treville had something to hide about why he had met with Savoy. His explanation could just as well have been a lie. And now Athos’ reaction. There had to be something more behind it. 

“Say, Athos,” Athos looked up when Nathan spoke again. “Do you have problems with the TV and cellphone reception in your room, too? I can hardly work on the laptop up there, with all the interferences.”

“No, I don’t have time to watch TV,” Athos just said. Like his talk with Treville, now he was the one not listening, too worried about his captain.

***************************************

Constance took a seat in Feron’s desk chair and went through the papers on his desk. There weren’t many, just a few invitations to parties along the Côte D’Azur. She turned around and opened the filing cabinet behind her at the window. The first drawer held only office supplies; ball-point pens, a hole-punch, a stapler and text markers. The second one was filled with flyers, ads and business cards. The third one contained a few opened letters. She took them out, hoping that she had found something useful. From the corner of his eye, D’Artagnan noticed it. “Did you find something?”

“I’m not sure yet.” 

D’Artagnan stopped for a moment, while Constance quickly glanced through the documents, using the time to get his breath back. All of this was exhausting him more than he would have thought. 

“No, nothing, just letters between Louis and Feron,” Constance said.  
“They’re still writing letters?” D’Artagnan was surprised.  
“Welll, men of the old school, I guess.” 

They both continued searching. Since Constance had gone through all the drawers already, she now turned to the laptop. “D’Artagnan, can you come over? It’s password protected.”

Her boyfriend, who had wanted to start on the shelves and the books in them, came over to her. “Let me see.” He saw the problem immediately and reached for the bag he had brought with him and pulled out a thumb drive. “Here, I have a USB stick for such cases. If it’s a simple password, this should get us in.” He plugged the device in and a program started to run. A few seconds later the desktop appeared on the screen. Constance clicked on the file folders. “Strange, there are hardly any files, the computer is as good as empty,” she remarked. 

“How can that be? Even I have tons of files on my computer and I don’t even work with it.”  
“I don’t understand. The project alone should fill the hard drive.”

“We should copy the few files that are there to the stick anyway,” D’Artagnan said. Constance nodded. She was just about to mark and copy the files, when they heard sounds from the ground floor. Constance opened her mouth to say something, but D’Artagnan put his finger against his lips, signaling her not to make a sound.

Once more they heard sounds from below. D’Artagnan reacted immediately and unplugged the USB stick. Constance logged out of the computer. They hurried over to the door leading to the staircase, but footsteps at the other end of the stairs told them that this way out was blocked. Constance looked at her accomplice for help. D’Artagnan pulled her away from the door and Constance clung to his arm. Wildly he looked around the room. There had to be another way out for them. He checked the walls, but could find no door or other exit. The footsteps became louder. Constance walked backwards, bumping into the desk. Her eyes were glued to the door, she expected someone to enter and discover them any minute.

**********************************

On the ground floor of Feron’s estate one of the men, apparently their leader, posted the rest of the men at the exits. “Don’t let them get away, we need them. The best thing is to take photos of them in flagranti. Oh, and we need them alive, so if you have to shoot, aim at the legs.”

The men nodded and took up their posts, while the leader and three other men searched the rooms on the ground floor. A few minutes later it was clear that this floor was empty. 

“Grimaud, there’s no one here,” one of his underlings whispered. Grimaud pointed upstairs and at once the three men took position at the foot of the stairs. 

“They won’t escape us up there, this is the only way in or out,” the man said. 

“Be quiet, we don’t want them to hear us and be warned,” Grimaud admonished him. The man fell silent and started up the stairs. 

“Wait,” one of the men, who was posted at one of the patio doors, said. One of Grimaud’s men came creeping closer. “Sir, we haven’t found a car, they must have gotten here by other means,” he reported. Grimaud nodded and the men finally went upstairs.

**************************************

“D’Artagnan, what can we do now?” Constance asked, more than desperate. She was completely out of her depth by now. D’Artagnan didn’t answer, but continued his frantic search. There had to be another way out. He hurried over to the windows. Luckily, they were neither locked nor armed. The pushed the curtains aside and opened the window behind the desk. Looking down, he saw that it wasn’t too high up. After all, they were only on the first floor. He tried to guess the distance to the ground. It had to work. He waved Constance over and she immediately came and stood beside him. “You want to go down there?” she whispered.

“It’s our only way out. Come on, it’s not so deep. We’ll hold on to the windowsill, drop down to the ground there and run away,” D’Artagnan said, pointing to a spot on the ground. When he said it, it sounded so simple. “I’ll jump first, then I can catch you.” He was already halfway out of the window, when Constance held him back. “No, please, your injury. You won’t make it,” she said, incredibly worried. He had no time to worry about this now. He couldn’t afford to think of himself, right now Constance’s safety and her good name where the only things that mattered. 

“Nothing will happen, it’s child’s play,” he said, trying to play down the danger. He continued swinging both legs out of the window. Once outside, he dropped slightly, still holding on to the windowsill. When he was stretched out, hanging only by his fingertips on the windowsill, he dropped the rest of the way down. It was only a short fall, before he landed on the ground. In top form and without his injury, it really would have been child’s play. In his current condition it was a risky move. He landed on the ground and tried to dive into a roll, since he had underestimated the force of his impact, but it didn’t work and he landed roughly on his front on the ground. 

From the room, all Constance could see was that he lay flat on the ground for a few seconds, and it looked like that hadn’t been the plan. Without his injury, her boyfriend would surely have landed much more gracefully. She wanted to call down to him, but stopped herself, since she could already hear the men coming up the stairs. 

D’Artagnan took a couple of deep breaths and tried to banish the pain to the back of his mind. He picked himself up and looked up to the window, giving Constance a forced smile to let her know that he was okay, and waved her down. Constance heard the footsteps come closer and closer and didn’t waste any more time. All she knew was, that D’Artagnan would protect her. And most of all, that he would catch her. Like him, she swung out onto the windowsill and maneuvered around until she hung from her hands. D’Artagnan reached out for her and she let herself drop, landing softly in his arms. 

Gently he brought her down to the ground, schooling his face into a mask he had only needed during the war. A mask that hid how he really felt. The fall and the additional exertion hadn’t done his wound any good. He had probably torn the stitches, since he could feel blood soaking through the T-Shirt he wore beneath the sweat jacket. Before Constance could say anything, he grabbed her hand and they ran out to the street. Luckily, he had parked the car only a street away earlier. He opened the doors by remote when they were still ten meters away, so they could immediately hop in. He started the motor and drove off.

********************************************

D’Artagnan raced away from Feron’s estate, the combination of tension and adrenaline pushing the pain of his injury to the back of his mind. He checked the rearview mirror and drove faster, wanting to get out of Saint Tropez as quickly as possible. It took him a few moments to realize that Constance was shaking like a leaf beside him. 

“Constance, it’s okay, we made it. Please.” He was really worried about her. He was used to such danger and to the rush of adrenaline. During the war and in the time after that there had been many such situations. To a certain extent he was an adrenaline junkie. But for Constance, this was most probably the first time. He reached for her hand and found it cold as ice. Immediately, he turned on the heater. “Everything will be okay.”

Constance just nodded, leaning against his arm. She wanted to wrap her arm around his stomach to soak up his warmth, but instead she felt something damp and sticky. She pulled back her hand and saw blood on her fingertips. “D’Artagnan, you’re bleeding! Oh my God, you hurt yourself!”

“It’s not important. I’ll take a look at it once we’re back in our room,” D’Artagnan said, not wanting to alarm her any more. Now it was clear that he had torn his stitches.  
“No.” Constance stretched out her hand again, more careful this time, and felt the large bloodstain that had soaked through his t-shirt. “D’Artagnan, you have to stop, we need to slow the bleeding,” Constance argued. 

D’Artagnan checked the rearview-mirror again, pretending that he hadn’t heard her. He saw two lights behind them, getting closer and closer. He was already driving way above the speed limit, no tourist or even a local would drive so fast in the dark. 

“D’Artagnan!” Constance’s voice was getting louder and more insistent. She was deeply worried, pushing her hand against the area, where she could feel the blood well up.  
“Constance, we’re being followed. I can’t stop now. We need to lose them, before we get back to the hotel.”

Constance was torn. On the one hand, she wanted to take care of D’Artagnan, but on the other hand, she didn’t want them to get caught and thrown in prison. She pressed her hand against the wound, trying to help in any way she could. D’Artagnan took that as confirmation to keep driving and stepped on the gas. He tried a couple of maneuvers to shake off the other car in the residential area, but it didn’t work. Apparently, their pursuers knew their way around. 

Since he couldn’t lose them this way, he drove out of the city and took the coastal road. Here he could make full use of the sports limousine’s engine power, so he drove even faster. His eyes kept checking the mirror, but the other car was still behind them. Constance became increasingly nervous as well. The pressure of her hand managed to slow the bleeding somewhat, but even if she managed to stop it completely, he had already lost a lot of blood and the pain had to take its toll on him as well. She could only hope that they’d be back at the hotel soon. 

D’Artagnan took the curves as tightly as possible, managing to increase the distance. For a few seconds they were out of sight of their pursuers and he used the opportunity to pull into a little inlet, where thick shrubbery and hedges provided some cover. Branches and thorns scratched the paintwork of the car, but that was the least of their worries. D’Artagnan had barely turned off the engine and switched off the headlights, when not one, but two SUVs raced past their hiding place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the end I wanna say thank you to (AO3) DebbieF, LadyNeve, Sigmund for their comments. You don’t know how much it means to me, when I read them. It is one of the reasons I’m writing.


	8. Collison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The escape goes on. And we are changing the place of happenings. So keep reading. Also I hope DebbieF is a little bit satisfied with the hurt of D’Art :D   
> [Constance room (Junior Suite) in Nice](https://pin.it/b6kcjp2wvgstjo)  
> [entrance hall](https://pin.it/pstwtpjtxuqzhb)  
> [Facade](https://pin.it/nvzrq6sasmtklb)  
> [sea view and the hotel](https://pin.it/y6naqzc43f7tuq)  
> [corridor](https://pin.it/y6naqzc43f7tuq)  
> [Anne](https://pin.it/63nkvzx6gter2i)  
> [Constance](https://pin.it/4z7menhsqrm533)  
> [Athos](https://pin.it/wmy7ppadilpn3f)

Last time in chapter 7:

D’Artagnan took the curves as tightly as possible, managing to increase the distance. For a few seconds they were out of sight of their pursuers and he used the opportunity to pull into a little inlet, where thick shrubbery and hedges provided some cover. Branches and thorns scratched the paintwork of the car, but that was the least of their worries. D’Artagnan had barely turned off the engine and switched off the headlights, when not one, but two SUVs raced past their hiding place. 

They both let out a relieved breath, when D’Artagnan started the car again a few seconds later. They had managed to fool their pursuers. However, that relief was very short-lived. Constance, who still had her hand pressed against D’Artagnan’s wound, felt fresh blood well up against her palm. “D’Artagnan, please, we have to get back to the hotel.”   
Her beloved, who by now had turned ashy pale, nodded and put the car into gear. “Do you want me to drive?” Constance asked.

“No, it’s okay, we’ll be there soon,” D’Artagnan ground out through clenched teeth. The adrenalin, that had fueled him for the last few minutes, was ebbing off. They had to get back to the hotel fast.

Later, he could barely remember the drive there. He had reduced their speed to a sedentary 80 km/h. Every now and then he blacked out for a second, but he forced himself to remain awake. Constance had kept one hand on the steering wheel, helping him, and fifteen minutes later the car stopped in front of the hotel. 

The entrance to the hotel was empty, which was as expected. Who would hang around in the lobby at four o’clock in the morning. Constance got out of the car and hurried to the driver side. With great effort, D’Artagnan had opened the car door and tried to get out. Leaning heavily on Constance, he stumbled into the lobby. They bypassed the reception and went straight to the elevators. Constance pressed the button for their floor and the elevator started to rise. D’Artagnan’s legs kept buckling and Constance had a hard time keeping him upright. 

Somehow, they made it to the door of her room, and she managed to open it on the second try. Her junior suite consisted of one large room, with a small lounge area in the front furnished with cream and yellow furniture, and a large bed against the back wall, which was where they were headed now. By now, Constance was practically dragging D’Artagnan along. At the foot of the bed, she turned him around so that he could drop down onto the bed on his back. 

She wasn’t strong enough to hold him, so he landed not exactly gently on the bed. His short groan raised goosebumps on her skin. “Sorry, D’Artagnan. God, what am I supposed to do? I’ll call a doctor.” Constance went to the telephone on the nightstand, but before she could pick it up, D’Artagnan mumbled something.  
“No, get Aramis. Get Aramis.”

Constance’s eyes went back and forth between the telephone and the man lying on her bed. Her first instinct was to call a doctor. A doctor would be able to help him. Or better yet, an ambulance. Why hadn’t they gone straight to a hospital? But she couldn’t despair now, she had to help him. He had to know what he was doing, and a doctor would only ask how he had managed to tear the stiches and re-open the wound, and why he was dressed like that. She couldn’t risk that. She had gotten him into this trouble and she would get him out again, so she went to the door. With her hand on the door handle, she looked back at him once again.   
He was lying half on the bed, with his legs still hanging over the edge. One arm rested on the bed, the other one lay protectively close to his wound. Constance took a deep breath and left the room. Since she had helped with the planning and booking of the hotel rooms, she knew Aramis’ room number. 

Not wanting to lose precious time, she decided not to use the elevator and took the stairs instead. She practically ran along the corridor until she came to the right door. When no one opened, although she more or less hammered on the door, she gave up. Apparently, Aramis wasn’t in his room. Was he on guard duty? She had no way of knowing, or finding out quickly enough. However, she knew someone who most probably knew, where Aramis was.

*******************************************

“It was a good decision, not to join the others on the terrace, but to enjoy room service here instead,” Louis said, taking the last bite of his sandwich. Milady, who sat across from him on the bed, smiled smugly, and daintily nibbled on a strawberry. 

“My beloved, do you have any idea, how much you have soothed my pain?” Louis looked at her with so much love in his eyes, that it would have broken another woman’s heart. However, Milady was the kind of woman, who wasn’t moved by that. She was used to men disclaiming their love for her, it was part of her assignments. Luckily, Louis didn’t expect an answer, or that she returned his feelings. 

Two weeks ago  
Only a few days had passed since the incident with Marmion. The police had come and asked annoying questions. On Louis’ orders Treville had fired half the personnel, and Louis himself had hidden in his room, unwilling to see or hear anyone. Only one or two of his closest servants brought his daily meals, but he rarely touched the food, having lost his appetite. In the days after the incident he still couldn’t say the name of, he was filled with rage.

He was furious and his thoughts had only been fueled by revenge. Treville and his guards had let this man escape. He wanted to have the man in his hands and wrap his fingers around his throat. Words couldn’t express how much he would have liked to end the man’s life, but he was prevented from doing that by the inability of others. Whenever he saw any of the four men – he didn’t even speak their names any longer – or Treville, he threw whatever was within reach at them, not caring what kind of damage he did. 

One morning, Treville came to him. “Monsieur, I would like to go through the new applications with you.” Before Treville was even all the way through the door, he had to duck to avoid getting hit by a soup tureen. “Get out, Treville! GET OUT!” Louis yelled at him. 

The king, who had once presented himself powerful, stylish and full of splendor and glamor, was now only a shadow of his former self. “Sire, please, you have to eat and get some rest. Shall I call the doctor?” Treville was worried about his employer. Louis stood before him in a ragged pajama. His hair was long and matted and hadn’t seen a brush in a long time. The air in the room was stale and Louis’ own smell was beyond unpleasant. It was clear to see – and smell – that he had seriously neglected his personal hygiene. In his hand was a half-empty bottle of whisky, which had become is constant companion. 

“You? Call the doctor? You’re the one responsible for this mess! You were responsible for security. You’re to blame for their deaths!” Louis kept yelling at him. Still holding the bottle, he waved his hand around as if he wanted to include everything that Treville was supposed to have protected. Some of the alcohol poured out onto the floor, but no one in the room cared.   
Treville just stood rooted to the spot. Having to hear Louis’ accusations was more than the usually steadfast man could bear. Treville had already blamed himself over and over for what happened. What he could have changed or prevented. Different protocols, different security guidelines, his own alertness. There wouldn’t have been any deaths, or even any danger in the first place. He blamed himself for a lot of it, thinking about it night after night. But to hear from Louis, the king, that he was the only one to blame for *all* of it, was like having a knife stuck into an already open wound. The pain was already there, but now it was almost unbearable and threatened to tear him apart. 

Before he could say something in his defense – provided he even wanted to defend himself -, Louis threw the bottle at him. All the alcohol in his bloodstream made him miss by a wide margin and the bottle crashed against the wall beside the door. “GET OUT!” Louis yelled again. Treville left, the files of potential applicants forgotten in his hand. 

The days dragged on. Treville was more and more absent-minded and avoided direct contact with Louis, sending Athos instead, if necessary. Louis still stayed in his room, not eating and not showering, only drinking. One evening, Anne came to his room with some documents needing his signature. “Louis, please, go outside. If not to Fontainebleau, then at least into the garden. A little fresh air will be good for you,” she implored, dismayed to witness his misery. Louis pretended not to hear her and Anne left the stuffy room again. However, the next morning, Louis’ mood had improved. He cleaned up somewhat and went into the English Garden. At some point he saw a lady’s skirt disappear around a corner of the hedge and followed it, thinking to find Anne. When he looked around the hedge, he saw a dark-haired woman. “Excuse me, Mademoiselle?” he frankly asked her. 

“It’s Milady. Milady de Winter.” The woman turned around and Louis was mesmerized by her beauty. “Ah, Milady, what are you doing here?” he asked.

“Visiting the public garden,” she answered.

“Well, then you are mistaken. This is the English Garden of Chateau Fontainebleau and part of my estate.”  
Her eyes widened in astonishment and she turned in a circle as if wanting to take everything in at once. 

“May I offer you a tour?” Louis asked, offering her his arm, which she accepted. The continued walking through the gardens together and Louis’ mood improved with each passing second. 

(Flashback end)

“Louis,” Milady’s voice jolted Louis out of his thoughts. “Didn’t you listen to me?” she asked, pretending to be disappointed, and turned her head away.   
“I’m sorry, mon amour,” Louis apologized, giving her his undivided attention.   
“I said, I would like to go to Monte Carlo. Visit the casino, and there’s also the tennis tournament there. Everybody who is anybody will be there. I can’t miss it.”  
“Of course. I will arrange it right away. I’m bored by Nice myself. Off to Monte Carlo!”

************************************

Aramis and Anne sat on the balcony of her room. He was just about to pour her some more wine, when Constance stormed into the room. Thinking it was the chambermaid, or worse, Louis himself, Aramis jumped up, but quickly sat down again when he noticed that it was Anne’s assistant instead.  
One and a half weeks ago

Constance came back from the hospital and wanted to wake up Anne. It had been quite some time since the two of them had had a long talk. How could they, with Constance at the hospital most of the time and Anne busy handling Louis’ business. But today was Sunday, Anne could sleep in and they could have breakfast together, giving them some time to talk.   
Quietly, she opened the door. The sitting room was empty and no sounds came from the   
bedroom. Apparently, Anne really did sleep in today. It would certainly do her good. 

Constance went into the bedroom - and stopped dead in her tracks. Anne was sleeping peacefully, securely wrapped in Aramis’ arms. The whole scene was so serene and heartwarming, that Constance didn’t want to disturb them. Slowly she walked backwards.   
Unfortunately, she stumbled over a discarded shoe and the sounds she made trying to keep her balance made Aramis stir. Once he realized that someone was in the room, he snapped awake and sat up in bed, his movements waking Anne as well. She looked at Constance and it took her several seconds to realize that her best friend was standing in her bedroom. 

“I…..I’m sorry…..I didn’t want to disturb you…” Constance stammered and quickly retreated.   
Aramis wanted to jump out of bed, but his still healing ribs restricted his usual mobility. Anne was out of the bed faster and hurried after her friend. In the sitting room she caught up with her and took hold of her arm. “Now you know all of my secrets,” she said. From this moment on, Constance knew for certain, that there was something between Anne and Aramis. She had suspected it before, but she hadn’t been certain, and she hadn’t known that they slept together.

(Flashback end)

Before either Aramis or Anne could ask, what she wanted, Constance started talking. “Aramis, please come quickly.” Without any more explanation, she turned around and left again. Aramis and Anne shared a confused look, but followed her immediately.

*********************************

Constance stormed into her own room without a thought for her companions, and Aramis was barely able to catch the door she had slammed open, before it could hit him in the face. As soon as he got closer to the bed, however, everything else was forgotten. D’Artagnan, one of his best friends, lay unconscious on his girlfriend’s bed. Aramis immediately went over to check on him. He saw that the wound had re-opened and D’Artagnan had lost a lot of blood. That was definitely not good. Without looking up, Aramis started issuing orders. “I need fresh towels. And there should be a sewing kit in the bathroom. There usually is.” 

Constance nodded, feeling less helpless than a few minutes ago. She was in control again and D’Artagnan had someone to help him. Immediately, she hurried to fetch the towels and sewing kit. 

Anne stood at the foot of the bed, her eyes fixed on the gory scene in front of her. Aramis was kneeling above his colleague and had pushed up the man’s t-shirt. Now he removed the blood-soaked bandage and took a closer look at the wound. Constance came back and placed the requested items beside Aramis, so that he could clean and stitch the wound up again. 

Anne took Constance aside a little. “Constance, what happened?”  
For the first time, Constance looked her friend in the eyes and Anne was alarmed. She had never seen her like this, so helpless and desperate. 

“We were at Feron’s house, looking for information. D’Artagnan had offered to help. He suggested that we should go directly to Feron; he said, we’d be sure to find something there.”

“What do you mean “directly”?” Anne didn’t quite understand. 

“Well, we broke in, while Feron was out. At least that’s what we thought. In the beginning, everything went well, but when we were in the office, some men came in and we had to escape.”

“Which men?”

“I don’t know and we didn’t wait around for them to introduce themselves,” Constance said, snarkily. “Sorry, Anne. Well, we did escape, but we had to go through the window. I think that’s where D’Artagnan tore his stitches. Anyway, we went back to the car and that’s when I noticed it, but he said we need to shake them off first.”

“Shake off who?”

“Well, our pursuers. They followed us in a car almost all the way to the hotel, but eventually, D’Artagnan managed to lose them. We finally made it back here, he wanted me to fetch Aramis and now here we are.” Constance took a deep breath once she had finished the whole tale.

“God, Constance, that’s not what I wanted,” Anne said, dismayed.  
“No, it’s not your fault, you didn’t expect us to do that. I should have talked D’Artagnan out of it.”

“Yes, you really should have done that.” Aramis declared. He had finished the stitches and was bandaging the wound again.  
“Aramis, how….”

“He’ll be okay. He lost a lot of blood, but your quick reaction probably saved his life.” He went into the bathroom to wash his hands, before he returned to the two women and the still unconscious man on the bed. “Constance, how could this happen?” To say that Aramis was angry, was an understatement. “He was still recovering from his injury and was supposed to take it easy. I think a break-in isn’t exactly what one would call ‘taking it easy’, is it?”

“Aramis, please, D’Artagnan is a grown man and Constance is not responsible for his actions. You of all people should know how difficult it is to stop him from doing something, once he has set his mind to it.” Anne stood in front of Aramis, defending her friend. They stared at each other for a few second and Constance was afraid, they’d start a terrible row any second, but Aramis lowered his head and scrubbed a hand across his face. “You’re right, Anne. You’re so right. I’m sorry, Constance. D’Artagnan can be bullheaded, like the rest of us. He should have known better.”

“And?” Anne said, relentless.   
“And I’m glad you were with him, he couldn’t have done it alone. Thanks.”  
Anne was satisfied. “If you want to be angry at someone, it’s D’Artagnan.”

“Oh, trust me, I will be. As soon as he wakes up again.” All three of them fell silent, staring at D’Artagnan.

“Did you at least find something?” Aramis asked, breaking the oppressive silence. Constance   
shook her head. 

“No, there was nothing. It was really strange. Just a few uninteresting invoices and some letters between Feron and your cousin,” Constance answered, looking at Anne. “We found only a handful of files on his laptop, other than that it was empty.”

“It was empty?”   
Constance nodded. 

“And the files? Do you have them?”  
Constance shook her head. “No, before we could copy the files, the men showed up and we had to escape, but it looked like only some unimportant text files.”  
Aramis thoughtfully stroked his chin. 

Anne knew that look. “What is it, baby?”  
“A man like Feron, he’s bound to have at least a few interesting documents. And as for his laptop….I know how often *you’* need more disk space than usual.”

Anne nodded. They thought about it for a little while.   
“Okay, Anne, it’s time for us to leave. D’Artagnan is stable, I think he’ll feel a little better by tomorrow. Until then, this stays between the three of us. This whole thing seems fishy to me,”   
Aramis said.

*********************************

Anne and Aramis walked along the corridor towards Anne’s room. When Porthos came around the corner, Aramis let go of Anne’s hand and put some distance between them. “Porthos,   
what are you doing here?”

“My shift is over, and I wanted to lay down for a couple of hours. What are you still doing here?”

Anne mumbled something neither of the men could understand.   
“I’m taking Anne back to her room. She got a little lost.” It was one of Aramis’ flimsier excuses, but the best he could come up with at short notice. Porthos just grinned and let it go. “Okay. Oh, and start packing.”

“Packing?” 

“Yes, Milady wants to go to Monte Carlo, and the rest of us has to tag along. She really has the king wrapped around her little finger.”  
************************************

Early next morning, the cars were loaded. Milady and the king had already left, leaving Louis’ people and the hotel personnel to deal with the luggage. Treville and Porthos were coordinating everything and gave directions, before they followed the two lovebirds.  
Athos and the young bodyguards struggled with the ladies’ luggage, while Vincent stood around, smoking a cigarette. Athos, who had had to share an elevator with Milady, was too worked up over the encounter to call him out on it, taking his frustration out on the suitcases instead. 

Aramis, Constance and Anne stood outside the entrance door. Aramis supported D’Artagnan, who to Constance’s relief and joy had finally woken up and had regained some strength, although he could only master the distance to the car with Aramis’ help. Constance was at his other side. For today, she had chosen a simple cream-colored skirt with a Boho pattern, and a black tank top. Since she helped support her boyfriend, she wore flat sandals and her brown clutch had a shoulder strap. 

Anne had decided on something a little more elegant. Black pumps, tapered caramel-colored pants, a black silk top with spaghetti straps, a black blazer with the sleeves rolled up, and a black-and-white striped clutch. 

Aramis helped D’Artagnan into the car. Athos watched the whole scene and frowned. He didn’t say anything, but something was going on. Apparently, Aramis was in on it and that was enough for him. One for all and all for one. And sometimes that meant one for one. Athos straightened up the black polo shirt he wore with dark grey jeans, and got into the last car in line, and the little convoy moved out.

************************************

Porthos and Treville arrived in Monte Carlo shortly after Louis and Milady. The Hermitage hotel could easily compare to their hotel in Nice with its impressive pale-yellow facade, that seemed to shimmer like gold in the sun. It was a relatively low building in a style reminiscent of the hotels in Bath. 

“Treville, take care of the luggage, we’ll freshen up,” Louis ordered, disappearing into the hotel with his paramour. Treville mumbled something about page boys and followed them. This left Porthos to deal with the luggage. Together with some of the hotel page boys, he loaded the suitcases and bags onto a couple of luggage carts. Since there weren’t enough page boys, he had to take one of the carts up to Louis’ room himself.

He had finally managed to maneuver the heavy cart out of the elevator and tried steering it along the corridor, when he bumped into someone and almost lost his balance. He managed to stay on his feet by holding onto the wall, but the other person landed roughly on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to (AO3)DebbieF, Lady_Neve for the comments and the guest for the kudo.


	9. Room Service

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It will get exciting. My translater thinks it is like a cinema thriller. What do you think? Also the outfits and the pictures ot the hotel and Casino are here: 
> 
> [Jacuzzi](https://pin.it/teavrwbakbws3u)   
>  [Louis suite](https://pin.it/mdqqae3ym6xop4)   
>  [Casino](https://pin.it/e2bgn2cidte7ve)   
>  [Porthos](https://pin.it/xro4lnxu6mgb7x)   
>  [Anne](https://pin.it/rqpeso6y46zset)

Nicollier spent the night at the Hermitage. He owned a villa in Saint Tropez, but urgent business necessitated an extended stay in Monte Carlo and commuting between the two cities would take too much time. And the tennis tournament set to take place in a few days required his presence.

There was a knock on the door. With the newspaper still in his hand, Nicollier opened it. One of the page boys held out a silver tray with a folded piece of paper on it. Nicollier took it and closed the door again, shutting the page boy out without a tip.

The elderly man went back into his suite and sat in one of the armchairs. Louis is at the Hermitage and has taken a number of rooms for an open-ended stay, the note from the concierge read. The presence of Feron's brother was more than annoying. Nicollier took his cellphone from the side table and dialed Guise's number.

<Nicollier, what is it?>

"Sorry to disturb you, but I have unpleasant news. Louis has left Nice and has checked into the Hermitage in Monte Carlo for the time being."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. When Guise spoke again, his voice was calm enough to raise goosebumps, and not the pleasant kind, but the kind one got from a horror story.

<Get rid of him. He has to go back to Nice. Convince Louis, that Monte Carlo was just a day trip. He must go back to Nice.> Without another word, Guise ended the call.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

In his office, Guise ended the call and immediately dialed another number. Without waiting for a greeting, he started to speak. "Feron, apparently your brother is not as simple a man as you made him out to be. He is in Monte Carlo, with Nicollier."

<Louis in Monte Carlo? I haven't heard anything about that.>

"I don't care what you did or didn't hear. You don't seem to have him under control." With this accusation, Guise ended the second call just as abruptly as the first.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Feron kept the receiver pressed against his ear for a few more seconds, although the line had already gone dead. Grimaud came in.

"Sir?"

"Louis is in Monte Carlo," Feron said, putting the receiver back on the phone.

"Yes, but the bugs….they're all still in Nice."

Feron stared at the documents on his desk. "Take care of it," he said, drily. For him the topic was over. He employed Grimaud specifically for tasks like that. Grimaud immediately left to take care of the matter as quickly as possible.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Porthos quickly turned around and held out his hand for the maid he had bumped into. "Mademoiselle, I'm so sorry. I apologize. If I had eyes in the back of my head…." He stopped, when he took a look at the girl, or rather the woman. A young woman, blond, with a narrow face, a thin nose and big eyes. She looked at him and gratefully accepted his helping hand. When she tried to get up, he realized why. She was heavily pregnant.

Quickly, he squashed every other thought forming in his mind. She smiled at him. "Yes?"

He looked surprised and the woman clarified. "If you had eyes in the back of your head, then….."

Now he understood. "Then I would of course have noticed a beautiful woman like you immediately."

She blushed. "Well, nothing happened, Monsieur. I should have been more careful." She was about to walk on, but Porthos stopped her again. "You're a maid here?" It might sound impolite, but he just had to ask.

"Yes, Monsieur, not everybody comes from a rich family."

"Please, call me Porthos. 'Monsieur' always makes me feel like I'm forty and have a grey beard," he said, laughing.

At the thought of the attractive man before her being old and grey, she had to laugh too. "Elodie", she said, and went on her way. After a few steps, she glanced back again. He really was very handsome, in a dark red polo shirt, black Bermuda shorts and red sneakers, as well as a black base cap and sunglasses. Apparently one of the more pleasant guests, she thought. A rarity among the usual clientele in Monte Carlo. She turned around again and went back to work.

Porthos, too, kept thinking about her, while he put the luggage in Louis' room. He wondered, why, with the social insurance system in France, she still had to work in her condition. Maybe he should call room service every now and again.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Louis had long since disappeared into his suite with Milady, and Treville into his room, by the time the others arrived. In the beginning, Anne had been upset and angry, that Louis had simply left without waiting for the others, but she quickly fell silent, when she noticed that Constance and D'Artagnan had fallen asleep in the backseat. After the relatively short drive, Aramis and Anne woke the young pair up. Aramis helped his friend out of the car and together they walked into the Hermitage. As they came through the large entrance door, Nicollier came towards them. "Ah, Anne. A pleasure to welcome you to Monte Carlo." His anger of this morning had evaporated and he reached out his hands to Anne.

"Monsieur Nicollier, I thought you are in Saint Tropez?" Anne said. She shook his hand, but kept her distance, not really in the mood for his air kisses. Nicollier understood and let go of her hand.

"Business called me here. The Monte Carlo casino is one of my investments. And the tennis tournament requires my attention as well."

His mention of the casino surprised not only D'Artagnan.

"I congratulate you to this lucrative investment. The casino is one of the most renowned worldwide," Constance said admiringly. "And one of the richest."

D'Artagnan rolled his eyes.

"But, Madame, what are you doing here? I thought you intended to stay in Nice. After all, Monte Carlo is even further from Saint Tropez than Nice."

"And even Nice is very far away for business matters," Aramis said, snarkily, wanting to see how Nicollier would react. Unfortunately, the man didn't give anything away. "But it's one of the most pleasant holiday destinations," he simply answered.

Anne ignored that, answering Nicollier's question instead. "Well, Monsieur, apparently we're here for the same reasons you are, the casino and the tennis tournament. It was the wish of my cousin's lady friend." Anne had a hard time finding a suitable description for Milady, and in the end decided on the neutral, friendly version. No outsider needed to know exactly what went on in Louis's inner circle. After the usual small talk, Nicollier took his leave from the small group. After he had wished the new guests a pleasant stay, he went outside, while the ladies headed for the reception desk. The men watched Nicollier skeptically for a few moments, before they followed Anne and Constance.

At the reception desk, D'Artagnan leaned on the pile of luggage to rest a little. Athos stood beside Aramis. "Quite a coincidence that Nicollier is here."

Aramis kept watching the lobby, while he answered his friend. "You know what they say about coincidences. The universe is rarely that lazy."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Aramis accompanied Anne to her room. He carried her suitcase as an excuse, but the real reason was pretty obvious. However, Athos was too busy with other, more important matters to notice and D'Artagnan and Constance didn't mind. In her room, Anne started to unpack and Aramis sat down on the edge of her bed, blowing out an angry breath. Before Anne could ask what was bothering him, he started to rant.

"I'm really angry with him. Do you have any idea how risky it was, Anne? He was alone there. Without backup. Without telling one of us. With a half-healed injury. And no, it's nothing like my case. He's much more handicapped, since he only got out of hospital a few days ago. And that' not the worst of it. He also endangered Constance and I thought at least with her he'd be careful."

Aramis took a deep breath. He was really tempted to pound some sense into his friend's head. "Goes alone, at night, into a house, an unfamiliar house, without doing some reconnaissance first. Of course they get caught. How can anyone be so naïve? Is that what they teach in that special unit? I can't believe it."

Anne just grinned and let him rant.

"And then he doesn't even find anything. All that for nothing."

Anne had finished unpacking and put the bags into a corner, then she joined Aramis on the bed. "I find it incredibly sexy, how worried you are about him," she said. Aramis just huffed. Anne sat on his lap and ran her hands up and down his muscular arms. "How about we relax in the jacuzzi this evening?" she suggested, nodding her head in the direction of the terrace.

Aramis relaxed, put his arms around her hips and pulled her closer against him. "That's a wonderful idea." He kissed her. Anne enjoyed the kiss for a few moments, then she used her body to push Aramis back to lie on the bed.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Constance had helped D'Artagnan to his room. He looked better than last night today, but he was still pretty weak. He had made himself comfortable on the bed, after Constance had fluffed up the pillows and put something to drink on the nightstand for him. "You need to drink lots of fluids," she said. D'Artagnan was amused by her mother-hen mode.

"No, don't grin like everything is okay," Constance said

"But everything is okay," D'Artagnan answered, not understanding why Constance was suddenly angry.

"Oh, so it's okay, to almost get caught during a break-in – an ILLEGAL break-in -, then to be involved in a car chase, during which you almost bled to death? You call that 'okay?" Constance was almost yelling that last sentence.

"Constance, do you want the whole hotel to hear?" D'Artagnan said, looking around. Of course there was no one else in the room, but who knew how thin the walls were and who had the room beside them.

Constance was silent, crossing her arms across her chest. She wasn't done, not by a long shot, but he was right, no one else should hear. "It should never have gotten so far," she said, her anger with him evaporating. Actually, she was more angry with herself, he had just been a handy target. Her boyfriend noticed it now, too.

"Constance, I'm a big boy, I make my own decisions. Yes, it wasn't okay, and a lot went wrong, but none of it is your fault. I know my limits and I wanted to help you. I don't regret it and I would do it again."

Constance nodded, but she wasn't quite convinced. D'Artagnan decided to leave it at that. It wasn't something he could convince her of, she had to understand it on her own.

He kept thinking about the break-in instead. The easy way they managed to get in, just to find nothing and then the sudden appearance of those men, who had almost caught them. D'Artagnan hadn't seen their faces, so he had no idea who they had been. He had a suspicion about their pursuers, but he kept it to himself for the moment.

"What did you tell Aramis, when you fetched him?"

"Everything, of course."

D'Artagnan rolled his eyes. "I thought our mission was supposed to be a secret."

"Well, with you bleeding on my bed, I didn't care much about secrecy," Constance answered.

She could snark back with the best of them, he had to give her that. And he couldn't blame her. After all, he had been the one to ask her to get Aramis. And maybe it was for the best that one of the other guys was in on it now, too.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Louis was alone in his suite. He tried to avoid being alone, because whenever he was, little snippets of memory of that horrible day surfaced. Again and again he could hear the shots fired just because of him. He quickly shook his head. No, he didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to be reminded of it.

Here there should be distraction. Milady should be here. Where was she? She had left him alone, apparently to take a tour of the city and do some shopping. He paced blindly around the room, working himself into a fit of rage. No one was ever there for him. EVER. They had all left him alone. It was just him and his thoughts and memories here. Louis tried to calm down. He took a couple of deep breaths, but that didn't really help. He went into the bathroom and splashed some cold water in his face.

He had seen Treville do that once. Louis had been very young, just a rising force in Paris, but Fontainebleau was already under his control. When he got closer to Paris, he had no choice but to set up his own security team. Everybody had said so. One of his closest employees had recommended Treville. Louis had only glanced at his application and file and hired him. Three weeks later the convoy had been attacked. At that time his entourage hadn't been as large as it was now, apart from him and Treville there were just two more men. He himself and Treville barely managed to get away. In his villa near Fontainebleau – he didn't yet live at the chateau then – he and Treville had hidden in the panic room until help arrived. Treville had been under a lot of stress and Louis had admired the fact, that something as simple as splashing some water in his face had helped.

This time it worked for Louis, too. He decided to go off alone, leave Milady to her own devices. He went down into the lower part of the suite. The suite was set up like a maisonette flat, with a bedroom on both floors and a small sitting area and kitchenette on the lower floor. All in all, a suite much more to Louis' taste. He sat in one of the armchairs and took out a coin.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A week ago

The ballroom would be renovated completely. The work had already begun, but Louis rarely dared to go there. Milady had tried a few times to convince him, as had Anne, but one of the women had been lucky or successful. One morning, around eleven, the hammering and drilling had been so loud that he had gotten out of bed, threw on a bathrobe over his pajamas and went out into the corridor. There was no servant around to give orders to, so he followed the noise, even though subconsciously he knew where it came from. On the way there he did not encounter any servants either. Later he realized why. On his orders, Treville had dismissed most of them and had not hired any replacements.

At the ballroom he didn't hesitate to enter, due to his anger at the noise, and his tiredness. It wasn't at all like he had imagined. There had been a very good reason why he had avoided this room, but no snatches of memory came back, he didn't see dead people in front of his eyes. Everything was okay, Apparently there hadn't been a reason to avoid the room.

Partly wrapped in plastic sheets and filled with all kinds of equipment, the room was hardly recognizable Louis quickly went in search of someone in charge. On the way, he stepped on something that caused him some pain through the thin soles of his slippers. He flinched, took his foot away and bent down to see what had caused it. It was something slightly shiny, round and with a relief on both sides. When he picked it up and took a closer look, he recognized it immediately. He had stepped on Marmion's coin, which the man had apparently dropped during his escape. He rubbed off the dust with his thumb and twirled the coin between his fingers. Finally, he pocketed it, got up and continued his search for the supervisor.

Present:

Louis took his cellphone and dialed a number. "Anne, we'll go to the casino tonight. I urgently need some distraction and I need a beautiful companion. We haven't done much together lately, and it would be nice to spend some time together."

Of course he wanted to spend time with Anne. He valued her highly, as a co-worker, but also as his cousin. But the real reason for the call and the invitation was the fact that he didn't want to go to the casino on his own.

Anne was more than a little surprised, since she hadn't expected an invitation like that. After a moment of hesitation, she accepted. Louis ended the call once they had arranged to meet in the lobby that evening, and went into the bathroom to get ready.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Aramis, who had been lying beside her in the bed, stood up and buttoned his shirt again. "We'll meet later?" It was more of a statement than a question, but he wanted to leave the choice to Anne. She nodded. "Of course. Until later then."

Aramis gave her a quick kiss and left the room. Anne heaved a deep sigh and went over to the wardrobe. So much for looking forward to a quiet evening.

Luckily, thank to Constance she had a fitting dress for the occasion. She hung it outside the wardrobe, before she went into the bathroom to take a shower and put on a subtle make-up. She put on the floor-length fuchsia-colored dress and did her hair. The wide straps of the top were pleated at the shoulders, and an edging of lace around the neckline showed off her décolleté. A small band around the waist gave the impression of a belt and the skirt flowed lightly around her legs. It was slit on the front, so that the pattern of the underskirt was visible. Champagne-colored stilettos, ruby-red earrings and an elegant clutch that matched the shoes completed the outfit.

Ready for the evening, Anne went down into the lobby, where Louis was already waiting for her, and together they drove to the casino. Since the king and the CFO were out together, they had a large security contingent with them. Six guards and the four recruits accompanied them. Treville and the other three had the night off.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Aramis had intended to find Porthos or Athos, one or the other was sure to go to the bar with him, but he changed his mind and went to Constance's room instead. He knocked and she answered the door immediately. When she saw him, she understood. "I have to discuss something with the concierge. Please come in, Aramis, I will be right back," she said, loud enough for D'Artagnan to hear.

Aramis stepped into the room. Constance grabbed her cell phone and left, leaving the two men alone. D'Artagnan was lying on the bed, but his skin had a healthy color again and his breathing was regular. Aramis came closer, but stopped in front of the bed. "How are you feeling?" he asked, but it didn't sound like he needed an answer.

He could see that D'Artagnan was still a little weak, but on the way to recovery, so his friend didn't answer. Both men were silently staring at each other. D'Artagnan opened his mouth to speak, but before he could make a sound, Aramis spoke.

"How could you be so stupid? All of us had expected you to know better. For God's sake, even I thought that. Such a mission, in your condition, and with one of our principals. Yes, I know, she's also your girlfriend. But that should only have made it even more obvious. How naïve can you be? If Treville hears about it, or Athos… Anywhere else, you'd be dismissed for a stunt like that!" Aramis ranted, expressing his anger and frustration. "You could at least have told us. Or asked for help. But no, you had to do everything alone, Mr. I-can-do-it-better. Yes, you can do everything better. But I, yes, I, had to sew you back up again. I, not you. THAT's something that you can't do yourself." He kept staring at D'Artagnan.

D'Artagnan waited until Aramis had run out of steam "One for all," he said simply. Aramis turned away for a moment, breaking eye contact. "And all for one," he murmured resignedly, sitting down on the bed beside D'Artagnan.

"Can we talk about something more important now?" D'Artagnan asked. Aramis gave a short nod.

"Constance has already told you everything. We found nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"It is definitely fishy. Everybody has at least something lying around in his house. Okay, probably not a letter saying "top secret, eyes only", but at least some kind of correspondence on the project or something like that."

D'Artagnan had come to the same conclusion as Aramis.

"And then only a handful of files," Aramis added.

"Yes, very strange. Unfortunately, we couldn't copy them. We didn't even have time to look at them, but judging by the file size alone, I can tell you that they can't have been very complex."

Both men thought silently for a little while. Suddenly, D'Artagnan had an inspiration. "It's an alibi house. To put up a front for everyone else."

"Was the rest of the house like that as well?"

"No, the rest looked as if someone is really living there. Everything was orderly, but lived-in."

"So it's not a false front. Maybe he just lives there and works from an office somewhere else."

D'Artagnan shrugged. They hadn't thought about that before. Aramis was right, research was very important before a break-in. "And what about the men? A whole security team isn't likely to just show up at your home, if you only live there."

"Especially since Feron wasn't even at home. They'd be more likely to go to him."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Athos was in his room, unpacking, when Treville knocked on the door. Athos was more than a little surprised to see his boss, and let him enter. "Treville, what is it? It's my evening off."

Treville didn't react. "I'm still waiting for the reports of the last few days. And I want a security check of the hotel, the employees and the surrounding area. Turn Monte Carlo upside down. I want everything on my desk by tomorrow morning," he said, in a disinterested and impolite voice.

Athos liked working, and working hard. Especially for people like Treville. He was always faithful and loyal, hardly ever questioning his captain's orders, but this was going too far. "Treville, I don't have enough time or enough men for that. Louis is at the casino with Anne, they have the second shift with them. And the first shift needs to rest. We did a short, but thorough check already, and I sent you the report by e-mail, that has to be enough."

"That has to be enough???I must have heard wrong. I decide, what's enough and what isn't. A short check is not satisfactory. Do what I tell you or you'll be fired!"

Athos wanted to say something, but Porthos came through the door. He immediately came over and placed himself squarely between the two men. He had heard loud voices in the corridor, and the closer he had gotten to Athos' door, the more he had realized, what it had been about.

Athos and Treville had nothing more to say to each other, at least not in front of a witness. Treville left without another word. Athos was still furious, threw the remaining clothes into the wardrobe and slammed the door.

"Something is going on," Porthos said.

"Yes, Treville has lost his mind," Athos answered angrily.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know what you mean," Athos relented. "I've noticed it for some time now," he added.

"Then we definitely need to find out."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The Monte Carlo casino was an imposing building. Inside, it was simple and elegant. Unlike the casinos in Las Vegas, it aimed for an atmosphere of grace and elegance, which Anne liked very much. Louis played at one of the poker tables and Anne hat stopped at a roulette table. Sometimes she was lucky, and sometimes she lost, but that was the nature of the game. However, it didn't look too good for Louis. He lost large sums and lady luck just didn't seem to be with him tonight.

When she turned around to take a look at the other tables, she notices, just how high the sums were, that were played for here. She knew a few casinos in Las Vegas, where the players were just as wealthy and important, but the sums that were won and lost here, appeared to be unnaturally high. Especially at the roulette tables, the stakes were high, but usually not that high.

And on some tables most of the players lost more than at the others. At least that was what the woman in the ladies' restroom had said. Anne could not confirm that, but she did notice, that the players at one of the tables cheered more than at the other. That could hardly be a coincidence.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Later that night, after they had returned from the casino, the jacuzzi was on and Aramis and Anne sat in the bubbling water, enjoying the silence, drinking champagne and looking at the stars. She had snuggled up close to him, with her head resting on his chest. His arms were spread along the rim of the tub.

"Did you talk to D’Artagnan?" Anne asked, putting her glass down on the wooden tray on the edge of the tub. Aramis didn't even ask how she knew about that and nodded. "Yes, it's probably bigger than we thought."

"What do you mean?"

"D'Artagnan and I have a couple of theories and we need to verify them, but I think, we've hit on something. We have to follow up on it."

"Good, I want to help. Just let me know what you need."

Aramis opened his mouth to speak, but Anne put her finger on his lips and he stopped. "No, don't even start. I gave Constance the task and I set the whole mess in motion. I will help, end of discussion."

As a sign of capitulation Aramis kissed the finger that was still resting against his lips. Anne smiled, but immediately turned serious again. "When I was at the casino with Louis tonight, I noticed a few things, maybe there's a connection somewhere."

Aramis was looking directly at her now.

"The sums, that are played there, are…."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to DebbieF, Sigmund, LadyNeve for the comments and thank you to Snowchic 47 for the kudo. Also tell me in the comments what do you think about the chapter.


	10. murky waters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but yesterday I didn’t feel so good, hope you understand. So here is chapter 10. I hope you will like it. Pictures of the outfits and the location are here  
> [Pool](https://pin.it/zbcn25gfph4ruy)  
> [Fitness Centre](https://pin.it/2yurlml6jgvmoh)  
> [Thermes Marines](https://pin.it/lhzkbj5xomemyh)  
> [Terasse](https://pin.it/bzqjnxeovf67bv)  
> [Anne](https://pin.it/lzzrtedkucbgju)  
> [Constance](https://pin.it/me6y46ipt5itsz)

„The sums that are played are much too high. The amounts being lost and won there are more suited to big event nights in Las Vegas. Monte Carlo might have one of the biggest casinos in Europe, but this can’t be normal. Usually something like that should alert the gambling commission, but I didn’t notice anybody.”

Anne looked around at the others in the group. After she had told Aramis about her observations last night, he had been very skeptical towards the casino. He trusted Anne and what she had told him was worrying. So this morning he had informed Porthos, Athos and D’Artagnan as well as Constance and they had arranged to meet in the hotel’s Crystal Bar this evening.

With the mild evening temperatures, the bar was pretty much deserted, offering enough privacy for the little group. They had chosen two large, comfortable sofas in a secluded corner of the bar. At first, Anne and D’Artagnan had been against this meeting, since they didn’t want to alarm the others. Constance had been in favor of Aramis’ suggestion and had convinced the two of them of the necessity of asking for help. First, D’Artagnan grumpily talked about their little trip to Feron’s estate. It was clear that Porthos and Athos were angry, but they didn’t say anything. Next, Anne told her observations. Together with the others, D’Artagnan and Constance listened attentively, since they heard the story for the first time as well.

Once Anne had finished, the group fell silent. No one said anything, they all had to think about what they had heard and try to put the puzzle pieces together. Porthos was the first to speak again. “I don’t think it’s so strange. You said yourself, this is one of the biggest casinos in Europe, of course a lot of money is won and lost here. It may seem strange to you, but there are a lot of wealthy people here and on vacation their wallets might be open wider than usual.”

“But the fact, that Constance and D’Artagnan haven’t found anything in Feron’s house, is a different kettle of fish. We should definitely look into that. And into why you were almost caught. We have to make sure that we don’t have to worry about a mole.”

“You think it was an inside job?” Constance asked. The incident with Marmion was still fresh in everybody’s mind and they were all reluctant to think there might still be disloyal employees or even spies in their ranks. Treville had dismissed everyone who was even slightly suspicious. “We can only know once we follow up on that. But the last word hasn’t been spoken yet about that break-in,” Porthos said, throwing an angry look at D’Artagnan. So that matter wasn’t off the table yet. However, that had to be dealt with some other time.

“And what are we going to do now?” Anne asked the decisive question.

Athos took the lead again. “We’ll keep quiet and under the radar. We don’t want anyone to suspect that we know something, so it will be business as usual.” The others agreed.

“We could try to listen around, maybe some of the tourists or the locals know anything. If there’s really something fishy at the casino, other people might have noticed something, too.”

“Good idea, that might work. And that way we could verify Anne’s theory. Not that I don’t trust you, Anne, but we need proof.”

Anne nodded. She knew that so far everything was just based on one person’s observations. They needed more information to better plan the next steps.

“We can’t just ask people on the street,” Porthos said. The others thought about it and Constance managed to come up with a plan. “We could visit the Thermes Marines. It should be easy to get into a conversation with the tourists or the employees. That might give us some more information.”

Anne nodded. “And we had already talked about that plan, so no one would start wondering, when we do it.”

“We need a plan B, just in case,” D’Artagnan said. He had learned his lesson and didn’t want to be unprepared for a mission again.

“We should search directly in the casino. We should be able to find evidence there,” Porthos suggested.

“You just want to walk in there with a magnifying glass?” D’Artagnan snarked back. Porthos knew that his friend hadn’t really meant it, so he just ignored the remark. He knew from experience how it felt to be in the dog house after a mistake.

“No, but I’m sure there will be electronic evidence. We should let Nathan in on it, he could hack into their system,” he answered. D’Artagnan grumbled in agreement.

“We should take Henry with us, the boy has proven to be good at sounding out people,” Aramis suggested.

Athos nodded. “Porthos and I will tell them.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A little later, the conspirators split up and went back to their rooms. Constance and D’Artagnan went to her room. They changed for the night and went to bed, so they’d have enough energy for the coming day.

“You do know that I’ll go with you to the spa tomorrow,” D’Artagnan murmured, already half asleep.

Constance, wide awake again now, turned around and stared at him, even though she couldn’t really see him in the dark. “Oh no, not this time. You can’t come with us, it won’t work with your wound.”

D’Artagnan remained calm and kept his eyes closed. “I am coming with you. The others will be there, too, this time and can take over if necessary. And it won’t be dangerous.”

“Well, if it won’t be dangerous, there’s no reason why you can’t stay here. Nothing is going to happen to me.”

D’Artagnan sighed. She just didn’t get it. “It’s not dangerous for me, but in Nice it broke my heart to let you go into the city alone.”

Constance understood his situation and his reasons, but she didn’t let go. “Okay, but your stitches are still too fresh. Or do I have to remind you, that Aramis had to sew you up again not all that long ago?”

“No, I know that, but I just won’t go into the water. And to be on the safe side, I can use one of those waterproof bandages. But I *am* coming with you. Athos and the others didn’t object, so it’s already a done deal.”

“That doesn’t mean that I am okay with it.”

D’Artagnan reached out and pulled Constance close to him. “I know,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, before he continued. “And I love you for it, but this leopard just can’t change its spots.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After breakfast the next morning, Athos and Porthos went in search of the young recruits”, as they had discussed last night. The young men were on the terrace and had just finished their own breakfast. “Good morning,” Athos greeted them.

When they heard Athos’ voice from behind them, they startled and immediately sat up straight. Porthos noticed it with a grin. “Morning,” they murmured back, looking at the two men expectantly, hoping for an interesting assignment for today. So far this vacation had proved to be rather tedious from their point of view. The young men had hoped for more assignments and more responsibility, not to mention a little action, but up to know they had only gotten a few guard duty shifts.

“I need to speak with Nathan alone,” Athos said. Immediately, Henry and Marc got up and left, nodding encouragingly at their friend. Porthos followed them, since he wanted to catch Henry alone. Once the other three had left the terrace, Athos took one of the now empty seats and looked at Nathan. As usual, the young man stared back wordlessly. Athos liked that about him, he never lost his cool and was persistent. Finally, Athos ended the little game. “We need some information on the casino. Employees, IT infrastructure, planned projects and finances.”

Athos had deliberately added a few things, but for their purpose, the finances were decisive.

“The casino? Why?”

Athos didn’t answer for a moment. Yesterday, they had decided not to let the two younger men in on the whole plan. “Anne and Louis want to find out, if the casino has potential as a prospective business partner. There are rumors about a possible branch in Paris and information is a valuable commodity in such cases.” That was at least partially true. They urgently needed information.

Nathan just nodded, although to him it sounded a little flimsy. “Can’t you just ask them? At the end of the day, hacking is still illegal.”

Athos could barely keep himself from rolling his eyes. “Sure, we could ask them, but this way we’ll know the truth much faster. And I seem to remember, that in the past you haven’t exactly been averse to doing illegal stuff.”

Nathan remained silent. He knew that something was going on and that he was only told a third of the truth, but he saw that Athos wouldn’t say anything more. They could keep sitting here for a while, but getting his boss to spill the beans seemed pretty impossible right now. So he just nodded and took his leave. “Okay, I’ll get right on it. The sooner, the better, I guess.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Nathan went up to his room to get his laptop. He opened the door and found Henry and Marc sitting on his bed, waiting for him. He was startled by the unexpected visitors, and quickly closed the door. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I have an assignment at the spa,” Henry blurted out, ignoring the question.

“I have an assignment too, I’m supposed to get info on the casino by hacking into their systems.”

Henry nodded. “Protection is only half of my task, too, the other half is getting information on the casino from the people at the spa.”

“What do they want with the casino?” Marc asked.

“Athos told me, they want to check out the casino as a prospective business partner,” Nathan answered.

Henry nodded. “Yes, Porthos said something like that as well, but wouldn’t you go about that in a different way?”

“Something big is going on, but they’re not telling us,” Nathan said. “I suggest we do a little investigating of our own.”

“You mean just the three of us? And what about our assignments?” Henry gave Nathan a confused look.

“We’ll take care of them, of course, but we’ll also try to find answers for ourselves.”

Marc liked the idea. “I can ask around, see if the others here know anything. Since you’ll be out, things should be quiet here.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Around lunchtime, the group of conspirators met in the lobby and went to the spa, which was only a few minutes from the hotel. Anne and Constance had already changed into their bikinis at the hotel, so they only needed to slip out of their light summer dresses in the spa’s changing rooms. Constance had chosen a white bikini with a blue and black flower print. It had a high-waisted panty with cutouts at the waist, and a neckholder top.

Anne had also selected a neckholder top, in her case fuchsia-colored, with a criss-cross wrap that knotted at the back. The panty was white, with a pink and green flower print.

The ladies slipped into the bathrobes the nice lady at the reception desk had provided and went on to their beauty treatment. They had booked a full-body treatment with a facial mask, a hand and foot massage and last, but not least, a cleansing body peeling. The beauticians had applied the face masks and Anne and Constance were currently lounging in two comfortable chairs, getting their hand and foot massage. Beside them were two other women, who had apparently booked the same treatment. Anne and Constance took the opportunity to talk about Anne’s visit to the casino loud enough to be overheard.

“And then I really managed to win back everything I had lost before. That was really exciting. I didn’t know roulette could be so exhilarating!” Anne gushed. Constance nodded exuberantly. “And you only played roulette?” she asked.

“Yes, everything else looked too complicated.”

The woman sitting on the other side of Anne had listened closely and finally joined their conversation. “It was the same for me. Good thing you stayed where you were. I tried my hand at blackjack and I kept losing.”

The second woman, apparently an acquaintance of the first, turned to them as well. “Oh yes, you can only lose at the casino. I’ve heard so many stories….”

“What kind of stories?” Constance now asked directly.

“Mine for example,” the woman beside Anne continued. “I always lost everything, and I played very often. Luck should have been on my side at least once or twice, but no, I just kept losing,” she said, looking glum.

Anne felt sorry for her. “And that was all with blackjack?” she asked.

“Yes, yes. They always wanted me to try roulette or at least change to another blackjack table, but I guess I was too lazy for that, so I stayed where I was.”

“I’m sorry for you,” Constance said.

The other woman shrugged it off. “That’s life in Monte Carlo. At the casino you can win everything, but you can also lose everything. Everybody knows that.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Aramis and Porthos went to the fitness center and were impressed by the number and diversity of the equipment. Porthos tried out the strength training equipment, while Aramis worked on his endurance on the treadmill. The center had a lot of cardio machines, all lined up in front of the large picture window, so that the guests could enjoy the beautiful sea view, an advantage few fitness centers could provide. After an hour of strenuous training, less exhausting for Porthos than for Aramis, they met at the large refreshment station along the southern wall of the room, where guests could fill up their sports bottles.

A young man came over to them. He appeared to be in his late twenties, but not exactly in very good shape. Next to Porthos and Aramis he looked a little scrawny. Porthos, who had always been a more open person, immediately started a conversation. “Say, do you happen to know where we could have a little fun around here?”

The young man was flattered that two such men asked for his advice. “Well, in Monte Carlo, you just have to visit the casino. No trip to Monte Carlo is complete without the casino.”

“At the casino, you just lose your money,” Aramis remarked.

The young man just shrugged it off and proudly puffed up in front of him. “You just have to choose the right table, then you can keep your money and even win more.”

Porthos used the man’s presumptuousness for more questions. “Yes, but that’s just a matter of luck, or everybody would win.”

“No, no, you just need to know how it’s done.”

“Okay, and exactly how is it done?” Aramis asked.

“Well……” the man hedged, trying for secrecy, but he couldn’t keep his mouth shut for very long. “I don’t know every table myself – and I think they keep changing -, but there are two kinds of tables at the casino: some, where you always lose and some, where you always win. So, if you keep losing, change the table, and if you have a lucky streak, stay where you are and you’ll keep winning,” he all but whispered, moving closer and closer. For Porthos and Aramis that was conspicuous enough, but they played the game and pretended to be eternally grateful to him. At the end, the man murmured “Just keep it to yourself, if everybody knows, it won’t work any longer.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After that, Aramis and Porthos managed to get rid of the man again. Porthos wanted to exercise some more and Aramis decided to try out the strength training equipment for himself. When the number of guests in the fitness center dwindled, so did their chances of finding someone to talk to, so the two men split up. Aramis wanted to take a shower and then go to find the others of their group, while Porthos wanted to take a dip in the large pool. They were in a spa after all. The water was pleasantly warm, but not too much, since the temperature outside was approaching 30 degrees C. The blinds had been closed and soft lights illuminated the pool.

Porthos swam a couple of laps and then stood in front of one of the underwater jets. He had just closed his eyes to relax, when he noticed movement in the water around him. He opened one eye to check if the disturbance had been caused by a potential informer. Once he recognized the person beside him in the water, he opened both eyes again. “Ah, Elodie. Finally off work?”

The pregnant woman shook her head. “No, I have the late shift today, but I thought a little time in the spa would be good for my back. Luckily my doctor gave me a prescription for a few spa hours, to help me relax.”

Porthos nodded. He didn’t want to be in her shoes. “That’s quite a burden you’re carrying there.”

Elodie huffed out a breath, but smiled. “Yes, but the end is in sight. The largest part of the time is over. The baby likes the water, too. And you’re relaxing here?”

“Yes, we have a little time off today, so I wanted to try out the spa.”

“Oh, so you work here?”

Porthos nodded. “Yes, I work for Louis, he’s a businessman from Fontainebleau. I’m part of his security team. He’s on a business vacation here, so we have to accompany him.”

Elodie listened attentively.

“Well, and today is my day off. All in all this job is much quieter than my last one.”

“Oh, what did you do?”

“I was a soldier. Infantry. We were stationed in North Africa for a few years.”

That was nothing new for Elodie. “My husband was a soldier too. He was in Afghanistan.”

Porthos pricked up his ears. “He was?”

“Yes, He fell six months ago, but his body was never brought back, he was buried there. I got his dog tags through the mail,” Elodie said, sounding very sad. Not discontented or angry, just sad. As if she had given up trying to fight it. Her eyes were downcast, fixed on the surface of the water.

“Your baby is lucky to get such a strong woman as his mother,” Porthos said, wanting to cheer her up, since he had been the one to start the topic. It worked, and Elodie smiled slightly. They stayed in the water for a few minutes longer, talking. Elodie wanted to know something about the life of a soldier, since her husband had rarely spoken about it. Porthos was reluctant at first, but then he noticed how much it helped Elodie to talk about it.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

While the others were in the pool or the fitness center, Henry and D’Artagnan relaxed on the rooftop terrace. That way, D’Artagnan could take it easy and use the opportunity to talk to some people. At first they weren’t very successful. Some people wanted to be left alone, others didn’t go to the casino or hadn’t been there yet. Henry and D’Artagnan didn’t want to arouse suspicion, so they had taken a break from their task for the time being and just relaxed in the sun. They could look out over the harbor and watch the people coming and going. It was interesting to see just how much work there was to be done around a boat.

After some time, a couple had laid down beside them. It didn’t take the two men very long to start a conversation with the newcomers. Henry raved about the Côte D’Azur, hoping to steer the conversation towards the casino, but the couple was very angry. “We are leaving tomorrow and we’ll certainly never come back to the Côte D’Azur!”

D’Artagnan and Henry exchanged a quick look, before they returned their attention to the man who had just spoken so vehemently.

“Oh, why is that? I mean, there’s everything here that anyone could want – beautiful women, bracing air, the sea, the sun….and the casino,” Henry said.

“The casino? Young man, stay far away from it,” the woman said. “They threw us out. Can you imagine? We’re honest people, we are. After all, this isn’t the first casino we visited.”

“Why have you been thrown out?”

“We noticed, how the casino cheats the players,” the woman said. “You know, my husband here,” she pointed to the man lying beside her, “has been working for a casino in Las Vegas for over five years now.”

“Darling, it’s seven years.”

“It feels like five years to me. But anyway, he works as a casino, so he knows what he’s talking about. Last night, we wanted to try our luck at the casino, maybe our chances were better here than in the states. So, we went to the roulette table, and that’s when he noticed that the balls are manipulated.

“Manipulated, you say?” This was getting very interesting.

The man nodded. “Yes, you know, it’s actually pretty obvious, if you know what you’re looking for. On my job, I’ve seen the balls go around the wheel so many times, and the ones here in Monte Carlo just don’t roll like they should. I wanted to prove it.”

“But how can you manipulate a roulette wheel?” Henry asked, at a loss for an explanation.

“Magnets, young man. Magnets,” the wife said. “I wanted to prove it and threw something metallic into the wheel. It reacted, but before I or some of the other players could say something, the security people rudely evicted us.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

That evening, when they had all returned from the spa, the group met again at the Crystal Bar.

“What did you find?” Athos said, looking around the group. He had stayed behind and taken over Porthos guard duty.

“We met a woman, who lost everything at the blackjack table. She said, she didn’t win even once,” Anne started.

“Yes, but that’s just the way luck goes, isn’t it?” Porthos asked.

Constance shook her head. “No, statistically speaking it’s impossible to never win or never lose.”

“That matches with our information,” Aramis added. “A man at the fitness center boasted, that at some tables in the casino, you always win.”

Porthos nodded affirmatively. “Yes, he said, if you keep losing, like the woman you spoke to apparently has, you should change the table, and if you keep winning, stay where you are and the lucky streak will last all evening.”

“So it *is* possible to always lose.” Constance looked at Porthos slightly miffed.

Porthos just grinned. “Well, I wanted to know, if you have an explanation without our evidence. We call that double verification.”

Constance stuck her tongue out at him. “As you see, I can. And I could do it triple, as well.” That made everybody laugh.

When the laughter had died down, D’Artagnan continued. “We learned, that the roulette tables are manipulated. They probably have a system. Some tables are positive, so that you always win, and some are negative, so that you always lose.” That would make sense and everybody’s information more or less matched on this point.

“How are the roulette tables manipulated?” Athos asked.

“The man said, they’re using magnets.”

That was enough for Athos for now. “Okay, I’ll talk to Nathan tomorrow, see what he found out.”

“We should definitely test this theory for ourselves,” Porthos said.

“That’s right, maybe we notice some other things as well. We should discuss this at breakfast tomorrow,” Aramis suggested.

“And we also have to deal with Feron and his house,” Porthos added. Everybody agreed and the group split up for the night.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Elodie had the night shift. She had just gotten to the third corridor and was in one of the rooms to change the towels. The room was still empty, which was unusual at this time of the night, but it gave her to opportunity to correct the things the previous maid had forgotten, before anyone could notice. She had just gotten the fresh towels from her trolley and put them in the bathroom, when she heard sounds, first out in the corridor, then at the door and finally inside the room. She quickly came out of the bathroom to find two men standing in front of her. She was just about to apologize and let them know about the fresh towels, when she realized that this wasn’t their room. She had studied the occupancy plan and had recognized the guest’s name, so she knew exactly, whose room she was in. “Excuse me, but I have to ask you to leave this room,” she politely, but firmly informed the men, and drew herself up in front of them, which wasn’t hard with her pregnant belly.

“This is my room, I’m allowed to be here,” one of the men said, trying to push her aside, but Elodie didn’t budge. “This is not your room, I know the guest.”

The other man, a little smaller and thinner than the first, leaned over to his colleague and whispered, too low for Elodie to hear.

“Boss, how are we supposed to plant the bugs?” The man became grumpier.

“Do you know who you’re talking to? Get out of my way!” He snarled at Elodie. “I’m certain the guest has notified the hotel that a man named Grimaud, that’s me, is allowed to be in this room.”

“I don’t think so,” Elodie answered.

Grimaud had had enough. He had briefly hesitated hitting a pregnant woman, but if she didn’t want to listen, he’d have to do it the hard way. He raised his hand…….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like always a special thanks to DebbieF, LadyNeve and Hsg for the comment


	11. Game and Set

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here on time is chaper 11. Pictures of the outfits and the locations are here:  
> [Tennis Match](https://pin.it/b5jaewbsu2zikl)  
> [Metropole Shopping Centre](https://pin.it/z6454qdvmhh3rg)  
> [floor plan casino](https://pin.it/v2jaty6ffbz3uq)  
> 1: Entrance  
> 2: Black Jack rooms  
> 3: Roulette  
> 4: Poker Room  
> 5: Restaurant/Bar  
> 6: Storage Room  
> 7:Kitchen  
> 8: Staff Room  
> [Anne Outfit](https://pin.it/dmgswhoh2tiiis)  
> [Constance Outfit](https://pin.it/i73wmfbdn5tja6)  
> [Milady Outfit](https://pin.it/hqwyxfb3sszino)

Last time in chapter 10:

_Grimaud had had enough. He had briefly hesitated hitting a pregnant woman, but if she didn’t want to listen, he’d have to do it the hard way. He raised his hand…_

…but a few centimeters from Elodie’s face, it was abruptly stopped in mid-air. Behind him stood the legitimate guest of this room. He had his large hands wrapped around Grimaud’s arm to prevent Elodie from being hit. Elodie immediately recognized her savior and let out a relieved breath. This could have ended badly for her.

“What is going on here?” Porthos asked, the tone of his voice making it clear that politeness had long since waived the white flag and left the room. He pushed through between the two men and stood in front of them, shielding Elodie and threatening the men at the same time. The movement allowed Grimaud to wrench his arm from Porthos’ iron grip.

“Porthos, right? Feron wanted something, he told me to wait for you here.” Grimaud came up with a quick, but rather flimsy excuse. One, in that case he should have more properly waited for Athos or Treville and two, he should have waited in the lobby or outside the room, not inside. Porthos’ raised eyebrow made it clear that he didn’t believe Grimaud.

“We seem to have crossed a line here, and we’re very sorry about that,” the man beside Grimaud tried to defuse the situation. However, Porthos had no intention of making it easy for him. “‘The line’ was entering the room. Hitting a pregnant woman is FAR beyond that line.”

Grimaud had no word of apology, which angered Porthos even more. Grimaud’s partner, too, noticed that there was no way for them to win this situation. Without another word, the two men left. Once the door had closed behind them, Porthos relaxed. He took a moment to collect himself, before he turned around to face Elodie, who looked remarkably unconcerned, seeing that two men had threatened her just a few moments ago. “Are you okay,” he asked.

Elodie nodded. “Yes, people like that don’t really scare me, but a fall would not have been good for me or the child.”

“Would you like to sit down for a moment. Can I get you a glass of water?” Porthos pointed towards the bed and started to move towards the minibar.

Elodie held him back. “No, don’t bother, I’m fine. Thanks. Everything is okay,” she reassured him. Porthos looked at her. She wasn’t very pale and she wasn’t trembling either. Apparently she was right, she was tougher than she looked. Porthos decided to concentrate on Grimaud’s sudden appearance and looked around the room. “What happened? Before I came in, I mean.”

Elodie, whose back was starting to hurt from being on her feet too long, sat down on the bed. “I changed the towels, when I heard something. First out in the corridor and then inside the room. From the occupation plan I knew that this is your room and that the men had no business being in here. I immediately came out of the bathroom and told them to leave.”

Porthos listened to her while he kept searching the room for any changes.

“Well, at first they tried to tell me that this was their room, but then they realized that I knew it for the lie it was. Then they claimed that they were waiting for you, but I didn’t believe that either. And before it could go any further, you showed up. What are you looking for?” Elodie asked, when she had finished her tale.

“I just want to know if they managed to do anything, before you disturbed them,” Porthos explained.

“Ah, so you think they weren’t here to steal anything?”

“I don’t know what they wanted. That’s what we need to find out. Or rather I need to find out,” Porthos said, perplexed.

Elodie got up again. “Well, good luck with that. I can tell reception not to let these men into the hotel again,” she suggested.

“Thanks, but no. If they come back, we might find out what they wanted to do here.”

Elodie understood. “Okay. I have to get on with my work now. I’m sure we’ll see each other again,” she said. Porthos saw her to the door and locked behind her. He could do without another disturbance tonight.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A few rooms down the hall, Athos did not notice anything. After a relaxing shower, he had made himself comfortable on the bed and was on the phone with Jeany.

<So, what’s new? What have you been up to?>

“There’s not much to tell. We went to the beach and did some sightseeing, then we moved to Monte Carlo, because Louis’ lady friend wanted to. When can you come? Are your talks over?” he asked, hopefully. He didn’t want to admit it even to himself, but he missed her. With Milady breathing down his neck, it was a good thing that Jeany had stayed at home. His ex-wife had too much potential to destroy everything. However, with the new situation, Treville acting strangely, and the resulting uncertainty, he needed Jeany more than he liked.

<Just a few days more, then I can close up for a while. The holidays bring a lot of Asian tourists to the city, who are interested in my photographs. I have to make use of the opportunities.>

“Of course, but don’t work too hard, you need some time to relax.”

<Look who’s talking> Jeany said, and Athos could hear her laughter through the phone.

“I think, Treville hasn’t had enough time off,” he said, turning serious again. Jeany noticed, how hard it was for Athos to tell her, an outsider, about his concerns. “He goes completely overboard, comes up with impossible tasks and blows up far too easily. So far, I’ve only known him as an even-tempered, rational man, who doesn’t worry unduly about security protocols.”

<Have you tried talking to him about it?”

“No, right now, that’s impossible.”

<Well, whatever you do, I believe in you and you’ll make the right decisions for you and your team, and also for Treville.>

“Thanks for your vote of confidence.”

<Any time. But now tell me a little more about the coast.>

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After a night that had been a little shorter than Athos had intended, he was on his way to Nathan. He had to knock twice, before the young man opened, seemingly still half-asleep. “Athos, you’re up already?” Nathan asked.

“And you aren’t?” Athos grumbled, entering the room when Nathan got out of the way. “I hope, you’re still tired because you managed to find something last night,” he said, giving him a questioning look.

Nathan went over to his laptop. “For all that this is Monte Carlo, the casino makes remarkably little profit. The amounts in the books are pretty low.”

Athos was surprised. “Do you have a few examples? Anne has mentioned exactly the opposite.”

Athos took a closer look at the data sheets displayed on Nathan’s laptop. “As you know, records and reality don’t often meet, especially when it comes to finances.” Nathan said.

“Can you send this to me? I’m sure it will mean more to Anne and Constance than to me.”

Nathan saved everything on a thumb drive and handed it to Athos. “Why do you want the casino as a partner anyway? The numbers don’t look very promising, and the personnel is pretty old. The only good thing about it is the beautiful building.”

“We have to take everything into consideration. What do you mean, the personnel is pretty old?”

“They don’t seem to like to hire new people. Most of the employees have already been there for five to ten years,” Nathan explained.

Athos just nodded. Maybe this information would prove relevant later. He thanked Nathan and left, leaving the young man with a lot of unanswered questions.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Once Athos had left, Nathan waited five more minutes, then he grabbed his laptop and went to Henry’s room. Henry opened the door and let his friend enter. Nathan found Marc sitting on the bed. “Ah, I see we’re all here now, then we can start.”

“What did you find?” Marc asked. Nathan sat down beside him and opened his laptop.

“Okay, I looked at the finances, the personnel and the building. The only thing that stands out, are the long-time employees and the apparently too small sums of money, that can’t be right.”

“Why can’t they be right?” Henry asked, sitting down in a chair across from them.

“Apparently Anne has seen more than what the books show. Personally, I find the sums very low myself, considering we’re in Monte Carlo. Athos wants to show the data to Anne.”

Marc nodded. “I asked around. The others don’t know anything about the casino.”

“Now, if that isn’t interesting. So it’s sort of a solo mission,” Nathan surmised.

“But the ladies are in on it. Just not Treville, the other security men and Louis,” Henry said.

“So, practically everybody,” Marc summarized.

“We learned at the spa that the roulette tables are rigged,” Henry reported.

“Rigged? Okay, something is definitely fishy at the casino,” Marc said, worried.

“What are we going to do now?” Nathan asked.

“We keep quiet and watch,” Henry answered.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After the meeting with Nathan, Athos went to the breakfast room. It was already rather late, so the room was more or less empty. Only his friends and the two ladies sat at one of the large round tables, almost done with their food. He greeted them and went to the buffet to get his own breakfast. In spite of the time, there was still a very good selection. Salads, muesli, rolls, cold cuts, cheese, fresh fruit, bacon, eggs and pancakes. Athos took a little bit of everything and joined his friends at the table. “Louis?” he asked, deliberately omitting the name of his ex-wife.

“Louis and Milady are on a yacht since yesterday. He left me a message. How nice of him,” Anne said, morosely staring into her coffee cup.

“Did he take any guards?” Aramis asked.

Constance nodded. “Yes, I think Treville said something about four men. We met him briefly in the elevator earlier.”

Athos’ mood was even worse now. Milady was never a good topic for him. Anne and Constance noticed and were about to ask, but a warning glance from Aramis told them to drop the topic. Luckily they understood the hint and kept silent.

“So, what are our next plans?” D’Artagnan asked, turning their attention to the important point.

“The tennis tournament is today. We have been invited. Louis and I, that is,” Anne said.

“And what are we going to do about the casino.” Porthos looked around at the others.

“We could break in there, see what we can find,” D’Artagnan suggested.

“Oh yes,because that worked so well for you the last time,” Porthos said, teasingly. D’Artagnan threw a grape at him, but Porthos easily evaded it. Despite the serious situation, they could still have some fun.

“D’Artagnan is right, maybe we’ll find solid evidence and an explanation there,” Aramis said, supporting his friend.

“Okay, then it’s a done deal. But this time,” Athos gave their youngest a stern look,”no solo attempts.”

“Very well. The casino should be empty, since everyone will be at the tournament, but there will be a large party for the winners there afterwards,” Anne informed them.

“We can let you know, when everybody leaves, so that you have enough time,” Constance said.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After breakfast the group split up. Anne and Constance wanted to go shopping before the tournament.

“Come on, why do we have to come shopping with you?” D’Artagnan asked, when the four of them were in the elevator together. He wasn’t looking forward to walking around a shopping mall or wait outside of changing rooms for hours.

“Well, if you don’t want to… But something might happen to us,” Constance pouted, looking up at him.

Anne joined in as well. “Exactly. You read so much about it. In such a large building there’s a crowd of people, you can trust practically no one.”

“Yes, and there’s so many dark, deserted corners,” Constance argued.

“Okay, okay, you win, we’ll come with you.” D’Artagnan gave up. Aramis did the same. No man stood a chance against women like these two.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

While the others went shopping, Porthos collected their equipment, which wasn’t too easy. Due to their hasty departure from Nice, the equipment was scattered in various bags across multiple rooms. And they definitely needed suitable tools, a couple of walkie-talkies and other things. The usual equipment for a break-in. Since he had permission from the occupants, Porthos was in and out of the individual rooms, searching for the right equipment. As he came out of one room with a box in his hands, he saw Elodie pushing her maid trolley down the corridor towards him. “Oh, hello!” he greeted her.

“Hello. I see you’re already up.”

“Of course, duty calls. How are you?”

It was really nice of him to always be so concerned for her, she wasn’t used to so much consideration. “Thanks, he’s getting really heavy. But it will be over soon, at least I hope so.”

“He? It will be a boy?” Porthos was delighted.

“Well, at least I think so. It’s just a feeling, I don’t know for certain. I told the doctor, I want it to be a surprise.”

“Sure, I think it doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl, you’ll love your child anyway.”

“That’s true. Say, what have you got in that box?” Elodie asked, indicating the large cardboard box Porthos still held.

“Well, just a few things….security stuff…I….” Porthos muttered evasively.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain, I understand,” Elodie said, smiling at him.

“Thanks.” Porthos was really grateful to her. Not every woman was so understanding and content with what he could tell her. The other women he had known so far, had all wanted to know details of his work and could never understand why he couldn’t tell them everything. It was nice to see that Elodie wasn’t one of them.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The shopping tour was rather short, since they had to be at the Grand Prix at lunchtime, so they just went to a few shops to pick out an outfit for the tournament. And where better to shop in Monte Carlo than at the popular Métropole Shopping center. The three-storey building had large crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, there was brown and white marble everywhere and the atmosphere was more like a large villa than a shopping mall. The first shop they went to was Tommy Hilfiger. Unfortunately, Constance didn’t find anything there, so she decided to try Hugo Boss next. Anne needed something from the Body Shop, so the four of them split up and agreed to meet again an hour later at the Swarovski shop.

Anne and Aramis went to the Body Shop and Aramis was surprised at the large selection of cremes and fragrances. Pretty much every conceivable body part could be cleansed, peeled and moisturized. Anne laughed at his reaction. In the end, she bought a rose-scented creme, which Aramis liked very much, and a little something for Constance. Afterwards, they went to a café for something to drink. All the while, they were holding each other’s hand, glad of the opportunity to openly show their relationship without having to worry about consequences.

Meanwhile, D’Artagnan – or more properly Constance – was desperately looking for a dress. Constance had disappeared in one of the changing rooms, and D’Artagnan was taking a breather in an armchair.

“Can you please zip me up?” Constance’s voice came out of the changing room. D’Artagnan got up and partly pushed aside the curtain. What he saw inside, took his breath away. Constance stood in front of him, almost naked, not a zipper in sight anywhere. She laughed lightly, pulled him inside by his shirt and closed the curtain again.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, but it didn’t sound as if he had any objections. She kissed him passionately, and he returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her slender body. He lightly pressed her against the wall and began kissing her neck.

An hour later, Constance had finally managed to find a dress, and they met Aramis and Anne at the Swarovski shop as planned. Since the shop was a little small, Aramis and D’Artagnan waited outside.

“Do you think Nicollier is involved?” Anne asked.

“In the casino matter? Most probably. I mean, it’s his investment. If it was one of Louis’ buildings or businesses, you’d certainly know about, wouldn’t you?”

“You’re right. We should try talking to Nicollier again, he’ll be at the tournament too.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Athos angrily stormed out of Treville’s room and would have run right into Porthos, if his friend hadn’t managed to step aside in time.

“Wow, man, that’s happening more often than I like lately. What was it this time?” Porthos asked.

Athos snorted. “The usual. Treville doesn’t listen, and ignores every argument. He wants triple security for Louis. Definitely overkill, if you ask me.”

Porthos thought for a moment. “Give me a minute, I’ll distract him. We have to give him a new bogeyman to focus on.”

“Bogeyman?” Athos asked, but Porthos had already entered Treville’s room, leaving him standing in the corridor.

“Treville, we have to stay here.”

“What, why?” Grumpily searching for something in the documents in front of him, Treville didn’t even look up.

“I caught Grimaud in my room. I have no idea what he wanted to do there, but we should definitely look into that.”

Treville stopped searching and looked up at one of his protégés. “That’s really suspicious. Keep an eye on it. For the other rooms as well.”

Porthos nodded.

Athos, who had heard everything from the door, was surprised. As soon as they had left Treville’s room together, he asked his friend. “Grimaud was in your room?”

“Yes, I surprised him, and I think he didn’t manage to do what he came for, but I’m not sure.”

“You think he did the same in Nice?”

“I don’t know, but we should check it out.”

“A lot of work….and here I thought we were on vacation…” Athos grumbled. Porthos jokingly put an arm around his friend. “Come on, with nothing to do, we’d be bored out of our mind and trying to make our own trouble.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

At lunchtime, Louis and Milady met up with Constance and Anne in the lobby. This time, the lovey-dovey pair was there first and had to wait. Milady was tugging at her black leather dress. It was skintight, sleeveless and very short, showing off her feminine curves. Her high-heeled ankle boots and jewelry were black as well, perfectly matching the dress.

A few minutes later, Anne and Constance came down to the lobby as well, and the whole group, Anne, Louis, Constance, Milady, Vincent, Henry, Marc and six other guards, left for the Grand Prix event. Constance had found a peach-colored sleeveless dress with a deep v-neckline. The top was close-fitting, while the knee-length skirt flared out. Turquoise accessories and matching high-heeled pumps provided a colorful contrast. Anne had decided on an ivory colored outfit, consisting of long Marlene pants and a short, lacy top with spaghetti straps, together with nude high heeled sandals, a clutch and matching jewelry.

The tournament ground wasn’t far and due to their VIP tickets, they could quickly pass through the security check. They were still in the VIP area, when they heard a voice from behind. “Anne, Louis, how nice to see you here. How are you?” Nicollier came over to them.

“Nicollier, a beautiful day for a tennis tournament. My friend, I hope you’ll sit with us?” Louis greeted him joyfully. Milady stood beside him and smiled.

“But of course. Please accompany me,” Nicollier said with an expansive gesture. He went ahead with Louis and Milady followed behind them.

“Come on, we have to pump him for information,” Constance said, pulling Anne closer to Nicollier.

“Monsieur Nicollier, we were at your casino. A wonderful place,” Anne tried to start a conversation.

“Oh, yes, that’s right. A wonderful business you have there. We had a very good time. I lost a lot of money, but the fun was worth it,” Louis said and had to laugh.

“Really, that’s curious, because I kept winning,” Anne claimed. Both Anne and Constance knew, that that wasn’t true. Constance was about to say something, but then she realized, that Anne was testing Nicollier, since by now they had the information, that at some tables you always won and at others you always lost.

“Well, that’s why it’s called a game of chance. But today, I can promise all of us, there will be a winner and a loser.” With this statement, which didn’t leave room for further comments, they took their places, since the first match would shortly start. It was a really beautiful setting, The court, which had been set up specifically for the tournament, was close to the sea, so the spectators could decide if they preferred the stunning view of the coast, where two large cruise ships and a couple of yachts were anchored, or the thrilling match. The tournament was a major attraction, every seat was sold-out.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Athos, D’Artagnan, Aramis and Porthos got ready for their assignment in Porthos’ room, since all of their equipment was there. They had all dressed in inconspicuous clothes, and stowed their gear in backpacks. During packing, Porthos had told them about Grimaud’s appearance in his room.

“I found a bug on my lamp,” Athos reported and the others fell silent. That was really bad news. “Merde, another thing to deal with. That would explain the matter with Feron’s house. What are we going to do?”

“One thing after the other. Porthos’ room is bug-free. Check your own rooms, and those of Anne and Constance as well, just to be on the safe side.” They all nodded, grabbed their backpacks and left the hotel.

At the casino, they really found it mostly deserted. No sports cars in front of the door, no drunk and desperate guests. It was almost spooky. Some of the rooms were dark. They had already been decorated for the party this evening after the game. Porthos quickly looked around behind the building, finding only the cars of the kitchen personnel, and a few workers putting the finishing touch on the decorations. If the four of them were careful, they would remain undetected. He went back to the front entrance, where the others were waiting for him. “Everything is quiet, we can go in.”

In the lobby, they split up. D’Artagnan and Porthos went right, where according to Anne the room with the roulette tables was. Aramis and Athos went left, passing through the small restaurant and bar. The room had a long counter, small groups of chairs and tables scattered around and comfortable armchairs and sofas along the walls. They took a quick peak into the kitchen, noticing that the kitchen staff was there, preparing the food for the party, and went on into the break room and storage room.

Meanwhile, D’Artagnan and Porthos took a look at the roulette wheels. It took some time to find the magnets, since they had to dismantle the roulette wheels and do some tests. The magnets were well hidden inside and hard to recognize. They worked electronically, reacting to pressure plates mounted beneath the table under the numbers, so that the ball would land on the number with the most chips on it. “Pretty clever,” D’Artagnan remarked. “And pretty elaborate. Someone must have invested a lot of money,” Porthos said.

“You’re right, but I think they recovered it pretty quickly. Come on, we’ll take photos.”

They made some photos as evidence and put the roulette wheels back together, so no one would notice anything.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Aramis had gone into the storage room and was looking at the shuffling machines. He had taken the cover off and noticed, that the original set-up had been rigged. Like the others, he took photos and put the machine back together. He was just about to put the cover back on, when he heard a sound. Since he couldn’t be sure, if it was Athos or someone else, Aramis hid behind one of the storage shelves. It was one of the cooks. He noticed the open shuffling machine and looked around the room, searching for an intruder. However, since he apparently didn’t dare to go deeper into the dark room, he saw nobody. The cook put the cover back on the machine and left, closing the door behind him. Aramis breathed a sigh of relief…until he heard the key turn in the lock and realized that the cook had locked him in.

Ten minutes later, D’Artagnan received a phone call. “Yes?”

“The tournament is over, apparently it was an easy game, with one player in top form and the other definitely not. At least that’s what I heard. Anyway, we’re on our way to the casino now, so get out of there,” Constance warned them. D’Artagnan immediately ended the call and went to find Athos, signaling to Porthos on the way. Porthos took a last look around to see if anything hinted at their presence, before he followed D’Artagnan.

“Athos, we have to go. The tournament was short and people are on their way here.”

“We need to get Aramis, he’s in the storage room,” Athos said, gruffly. He had just come out of the break room, but had found nothing important.

They went to the next door and Porthos tried the handle. “Merde, it’s locked.”

“Let me try,” D’Artagnan said, squeezing past Porthos and kneeling in front of the door. He took a set of lock-picks out of his bag, but the lock proved to be difficult. Unusual for a simple storage room. It took almost 15 minutes for him to open it and let Aramis out. They were almost at the front door, the back door being too crowded with personnel at the moment, when the abruptly stopped. The guests were already here! “Merde, what do we do now?” D’Artagnan asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the end I wanna say thank you to LadyNeve and DebbieF for the nice comments. Thank you soooo much. Do you like this new direction of the events?


	12. Miracle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It will get thrilled. Here are the pictures :   
> [Le Loga](https://pin.it/2jd5go57z66sjb)  
> [Anne Outfit](https://pin.it/uxdqtmnrcoajfi)  
> [Constance Outfit](https://pin.it/tut4jhviepmyig)

Last time in chapter 11:

Ten minutes later, D’Artagnan received a phone call.

“The tournament is over. We’re on our way to the casino now, so get out of there.” D’Artagnan immediately went to find the others.

“Athos, we have to go. The tournament is over and people are on their way here.”

“We need to get Aramis, he’s in the storage room,” Athos said, gruffly. They went to the next door and Porthos tried the handle. “Merde, it’s locked.”

It took almost 15 minutes for D’Artagnan to pick the lock and let Aramis out. They were almost at the front door, the back door being too crowded with personnel at the moment, when the abruptly stopped. The guests were already here! “Merde, what do we do now?” D’Artagnan asked.

They all looked around wildly. How could they escape? Athos had an idea. “Come!” he motioned for them to follow him to the personnel room. The large, square was empty, now that the staff was taking care of the arriving guests. There was a small kitchenette with a coffee maker, a microwave and a fridge at the back of the room, with a couple of chairs and tables beside it. The front of the room was taken up with lockers and benches. One of the benches held a couple of casino uniforms – red jackets, white shirts and black pants. “Grab a uniform,” Athos said. He had already taken one for himself, slipped out of his own pants and shirt and put on the uniform. The others hastened to do the same.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“How did you like the game?” Louis looked at Anne questioningly.

“It was incredible. I’m not really a fan of tennis and I hardly know the rules, but I have to say, at the end I was really excited,” Anne answered. Louis nodded in agreement. “Not a very exciting game, but it did draw us in.”

“Yes, that’s why the odds weren’t very good either,” Nicollier remarked. “Oh, you bet on it?” Constance asked, curious.

“No, I just heard it from some of the other spectators. I’ll try my luck at the casino tonight. May I hope to see you there, too?” Nicollier asked, looking around at the others.

“Of course, absolutely, maybe I’ll have better luck this time,” Louis said. Nicollier took his leave and Constance also excused herself and headed for the restrooms. Anne knew that she had to make an important phone call.

Once Constance was back, they went back to the cars. The cars were just about to leave, when Constance’s cell phone vibrated. She took a quick look and her expression darkened. “They’re not out yet.”

“Merde, what now? We can’t stop everyone from leaving.”

Constance had no idea what to do. Luckily, they were in the first car, so Anne asked the driver to go slowly, claiming that they wanted to enjoy the beautiful scenery, but that would only by the guys a couple of minutes.

When they arrived at the casino, the first guests had already arrived and the staff came hurrying out to greet them with champagne and to park the cars. Anne and Constance went inside, slowly and apprehensively. The mood of the few guests already present was festive. It didn’t seem like four men had been found to be in the casino illegally. That helped to reassure Anne and Constance a little, but they remained worried, hoping to hear from their co-conspirators soon.

“A glass of champagne, Madame?” one of the waiters asked, holding out a tray with filled glasses.

“No, thanks,” she said firmly.

“I think you should take one, you look very tense,” the waiter suggested.

“How dare you?” Constance said indignantly. She looked directly at the man and realized who was standing in front of her. “D’Artagnan? But how….” She looked him up and down. He was wearing a casino uniform. D’Artagnan stepped closer to her and whispered. “We ran into some trouble and couldn’t get away in time, so we had to hide out in the crowd.”

Now, Constance did accept a glass of champagne and took a sip. Now that she knew, that there was no immediate danger, they just had to avoid Louis and get out of the casino.

“See you at the hotel?” D’Artagnan’s question was merely rhetorical. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and disappeared. Constance hurried over to Anne.

“I know, Aramis just offered me some canapés,” Anne said with a slight grin. “With me it was champagne.” Constance couldn’t help smiling herself.

“In that case you definitely made the better choice.” They both broke out in laughter, causing some of the other guests to turn around to them, wandering what was so funny.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

During the tournament

Anne and Constance followed the match, but Constance kept checking her phone, waiting for a message.

“Louis, this is rather boring. I think I’ll go back to the hotel and relax at the pool,” Milady complained.

“Yes, yes, do that. I’ll stay a little longer.” Right now, Louis wasn’t really interested in Milady’s presence, his attention was on the match taking place on the court. Milady rolled her eyes at the lack of sympathy and left without a word to either Anne or Constance.

She went back to the cars, where one of the drivers was already waiting for her. “Milady, I have been informed that you wish to go back to the hotel?”

Apparently one of the bodyguards had noticed the scene between her and Louis and informed the man. How annoyingly efficient they were, she thought. She stepped closer to the man, surreptitiously looking around. Luckily, none of the other drivers noticed them, they were all otherwise occupied.

“Yes, but first I would like to go somewhere else. Call it a surprise.”

The driver opened the back toor for her. “As you wish, just tell me where to go.”

“Well, that’s exactly the problem…”

“Problem?” Before he could say anything else, Milady had already knocked him out and, as she had intended, he fell onto the back seat. She maneuvered the rest of his body inside, closed the door and took the driver’s seat herself. Instead of going into the city or back to the hotel, she took the road to the casino, where she hid the car behind one of the catering trucks and got out. She locked the car and took the key with her just in case. The driver would be out cold for a while yet, giving her the time she needed.

Getting in through one of the ground floor windows proved rather difficult in her dress, but she managed it. Once inside, she evaded the staff setting up the final things for the buffet and went straight to the back rooms, where she expected the office to be. Once again, she was proven right and a few seconds later, she stood in front of the door to Nicollier’s office. At least according to the name plate to the left of the door. The door was locked, but with the help of a bobby pin it took her only a few seconds to pick it. She was just putting the pin back in her hair, when a hand landed on her shoulder. Before she could grab the arm and throw the person behind her to the ground, she heard the low voice of a man. “What are you doing here?”

She would have recognized that voice anywhere. She dreamt about that voice, it would follow her everywhere. It was the little voice in her head telling her that what she did was wrong. It was the voice she had fallen in love with all those years ago, and the voice that had betrayed her.

“I was looking for you. You weren’t at the tournament and I know how much you love tennis,” she answered.

“That’s not the reason. Let me ask you again, what are you doing here?”

She turned around and looked into the man’s eyes. Eyes that used to shine with love for her, but now held only mistrust and hatred. “Well, when I want something, but don’t get it, I just take it,” she said mysteriously, running her index finger up and down his chest.

“I don’t think there’s something you need from the office of the casino owner,” Athos whispered, but didn’t stop the motion of her finger. Unfortunately, Milady had no way of knowing, if he secretly liked her touch or if he didn’t even feel it.

“Athos, a long time has passed. I think you’re no longer in a position to determine what I do or don’t need.”

Suddenly he had her finger in an uncomfortably tight grip and she had to stop moving.

“You should leave, before someone sees you. It wouldn’t be good, if Louis’ lady friend is found in Nicollier’s office,”

“Would it be better if they found you there?” she said, sassily.

His walkie-talkie started to squawk, before he could answer. “Don’t rat on me,” she quickly whispered in his ear and disappeared into the office. For a moment, Athos considered following her and finding out, what she was looking for in there, but he was on a mission of his own. And he knew that she was perfectly able to look out for herself, so he decided to go back to the others instead.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Thanks to the uniforms, D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis were able to leave the casino undetected through the staff entrance. They hurried back to the car they had parked a short distance away and drove off. On the way back to the hotel, they stopped in a small, out-of-the-way street and changed back into street clothes. It wouldn’t do for someone at the hotel to start wondering, why they showed up there in casino uniforms. Once they were safely in the elevator and on the way to their floor, they high-fived each other, glad that everything had worked out in the end and that no one had noticed their little intrusion.

“Good work,” Athos said. D’Artagnan had to admit that such things were easier with the four of them. They were definitely stronger together. They all headed for Porthos’ room, since they could be sure there were no bugs there. Porthos stowed their equipment under the bed and they started to go through the photos they had taken on the laptops.

When they had closely looked at and analyzed every single photo, Aramis concluded “That plan must have been a long time in the making. The equipment alone is very expensive and then you’d have to hire the right technicians.”

Porthos agreed with him. “If that’s so, Nicollier not only knew about it, he ordered it. No one can be that clueless.”

Before the others could say anything there was a loud knock on the door. Porthos gave the others a questioning look. They closed the laptops, so that no one could see what they were working on. Porthos went to open the door to find Nathan standing outside, looking at him with a serious expression. “I know what’s going on.”

Porthos had no idea what to make of that, but before he could react in any way, Nathan had squeezed past him. “They’re laundering money.”

“Who launders what?” D’Artagnan asked, confused. Athos got up to take Nathan out of the room, but he young man didn’t budge. “The casino is used to launder money. I didn’t see it at first, but the postings are all wrong. And the bank notes, the numbers, nothing matches. I’ve seen something like that before. There was something on the darknet about money laundering and what to avoid.”

Athos looked at him questioningly. Nathan rattled on. “Anyway, I recognized the pattern. The casino launders money, that’s the reason for the wrong numbers and the low sums. That way, no one will notice and investigate.”

“That would explain a lot,” Athos said, leaning back in his chair.

“Yes, and also why some tables always win and some always lose. With the losses they take the right money in and with the wins they get the wrong money out.” Porthos had closed the door and joined the others again.

“Very good, Nathan. Thanks. Can you please let Anne know about it? Wait a second, I’ll give you a note for her,” Athos said. He grabbed a pen and paper and wrote a message, including the information that Nathan didn’t know the whole story, and handed it to Nathan. The young man immediately took it, glad to be in on the whole thing know. At least he thought so, but he had no idea, that the others had broken into the casino and that Nicollier was partly responsible.

Nathan quickly left to carry out his important task and the four men were alone again. “So it’s money laundering, I wouldn’t have thought that. Makes more sense now, however,” D’Artagnan said. “But now we should turn to Grimaud.”

“We’ll check the other bedrooms, and also the rooms we have been using frequently. Maybe we’ll also still find something in Nice,” Porthos suggested.

“Good, we’ll start looking here, you and Treville go back to Nice,” Athos ordered.

“Me and Treville?” Porthos gave him a pleading look.

“Yes, I think it will be good for him. He just keeps worrying and blaming himself. We’ll get him involved, that way he’ll get out and can concentrate on something else for a change,” Athos explained.

“Okay, if you say so…” Porthos gave in and left the room to inform Treville.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Nathan had handed the note to Anne and quickly left again, since he wanted to meet with Henry and Marc to tell them what he had found. Anne went back into her room, where Constance was already waiting. Together, they read Athos’ hastily scribbled message. “So the casino is used for money laundering. How come nobody noticed that?” Anne was furious.

There was another knock on the door. This time Constance went to open and came back a few seconds later with D’Artagnan and Aramis. “Did you get the message?”

The ladies nodded. “Yes, and we can’t believe it. To think we almost worked together with this man. What would have happened, if he had been found out? We would have been implicated as well.” Worriedly, Anne looked at the men.

“And all just because you noticed something, when you were there. You have to tell Louis immediately,” Aramis said.

“Yes, we have to warn the others as well,” Constance said, but D’Artagnan shook his head.”What if they’re in on it, too? After all, as far as I know, they’ve been working together with Nicollier for a long time now.”

“Okay, then we won’t warn them. But we should tell Louis that Nicollier can no longer be the resident expert for finances,” Constance said.

“Yes, but how can we get rid of him?” Aramis asked.

“Well, the easiest way would be to go to him, put our cards on the table and tell him to resign from the business association,” Anne suggested.

“I had no idea you could be so unscrupulous,” Aramis said, partly impressed and partly shocked at her suggestion. “It’s not a bad idea, but I think you should be the one to do that. We can provide backup if necessary, of course.”

“Don’t you want to come with us?” Constance asked, looking at him.

“No, it’s better if he doesn’t know that we’re involved in this. And we need to check on something else, maybe the two things are connected,” D’Artagnan said, with a knowing look directed at Aramis.

“What kind of things?” Anne asked.

“We found out that some of our rooms were bugged and…” before Aramis could finish the sentence, the ladies were already .

“Did you say ‘bugs’?”

“I can’t believe it!”

“Oh my God, what have they heard?” They were absolutely shocked.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find out, and also who was listening in on us. But for the moment it’s better if we stay below the radar.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After breakfast the next morning, Porthos and Treville left for Nice. The drive was unusually quiet. Normally they had a lot to talk about, about their lives or about the new recruits. There was always something. Athos was the silent type in the team, Porthos usually wasn’t.

“This Côte D’Azur trip is more work than we thought, isn’t it?” Porthos tried to start a conversation.

“Yes.”

“So, do you like it here?”

“Yes, it’s good to get out of the chateau for a while.”

“I think so, too. It’s really good. And by the time we get back, the ballroom will be fhinished.” Porthos noticed how mention of the ballroom changed the mood in the car.

“It’s not your fault. No one could have seen that coming. We all checked the employee profiles and there was nothing in them to suggest they would betray the king. And as for Marmion, Louis himself invited him. If anything, you saved the king from an attack. Or did you think we didn’t notice how you protected Louis from the gunshots?”

Treville continued to stare out of the window, but started to speak. “No, but I’m responsible for security at the chateau. I should have had Marmion’s equipment checked. If any one of you makes a mistake, it falls back on me.”

“But no one blames you.”

“Louis does,” Treville said, simply.

Porthos was silent. What was there to say to that? At least now they knew, that the problem was between Treville and Louis. They could work with that. And maybe Athos was right and this little mission would help Treville and distract him. It would definitely show him, how much he was needed here, which was a very important point for Porthos. He valued and respected his captain very much.

After another thirty minutes they arrived at the hotel. They parked on the other side of the street, went into the lobby and headed straight for the reception desk. “Bonjour, my name is Treville. We had booked a couple of rooms here three days ago and our boss, Louis, has asked us to take some photos of them. Would that be possible?” Treville hadn’t managed to come up with a good explanation, why they wanted to get into the rooms again, so they could only hope, that the receptionist would be kind enough to comply with their wish. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on their side.

“No, unfortunately, that’s not possible. We’re not allowed to just hand out room keys, especially not for the suites, and most of the other rooms are already occupied again,” the receptionist answered, typing on her keyboard.

Porthos and Athos took a seat in the lobby and discussed how to get their hands on the keys.

“I have one last idea,” Porthos said. He took his cellphone and dialed a number.

<Yes, hello?>

“Hello Elodie, this is Porthos. Sorry for calling you, but I really need your help. I wouldn’t call, if I could think of another way…”

<No problem, how can I help?>

Porthos smiled slightly, glad he could count on her. “Do you happen to know a maid at the Boscolo hotel in Nice?”

Treville wondered, who Porthos was talking to.

<Mhm, I’d have to go through my address book. Do you need the maid for a specific floor?>

“Well, we need the keys to our old rooms, we need to look for something there.”

“I understand. Wait for me at the hotel and I’ll see what I can do,> Elodie said and ended the call.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Anne and Nicollier had arranged to meet this morning at a café close to the hotel, named Le Loga. Since she would be there in her function as CFO, Anne had chosen an orange one-shoulder cocktail dress with matching pumps, a golden clutch and gold jewelry. A white, unusually cut blazer made the dress fit for a business meeting.

Constance had chosen a flared midi-skirt with a large multicolor fishscale pattern and a dolman sleeve top, together with brown strappy sandals and a matching Birkin bag.

As usual, Nicollier greeted them politely. “Mesdames, how very nice. I am glad you asked for a meeting. How can I be of service? I’m certain we’ll work closely together, with you as CFO and I as the resident financial expert.”

“Of course, although I find it strange that you have been suggested to us as a financial expert,” Anne said, getting straight to the point.

“Come again?”

“We have evidence that your casino is rigged and that you pay out counterfeit money instead of the money you take in from your guests.” While Anne confronted Nicollier with the truth, Constance placed the photos the bodyguards had taken in front of him.

“I don’t know what you mean, these have clearly been manipulated,” he said, indicating the photos. “I would never do something like that, it’s illegal. How did you get these in the first place?” He was more than shocked and became angry.

“That does not matter. As CFO and representative of my cousin, the security and protection of our corporate interests is my responsibility. An association with you would be more than detrimental for us.”

Nicollier was silent. He knew that he had been caught. Of course he saw that the photos were real and that he couldn’t deceive Anne and Constance any longer, so he caved in. “What do you want?”

Constance knew that they had him now. “We’ll hand over the photos and the print-outs to you and never speak of the matter again, and in return you resign from this business arrangement. Say it’s getting too much for you or something like that.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Porthos and Treville only had fifteen minutes to wait, before Elodie came up to their table.

“Elodie, you didn’t have to come just for us.” Porthos immediately got up and offered her his seat, which she gratefully took. He noticed how pale she was.

“Sorry, I just need to get my breath back for a minute,” she said.

“What brings you here?”

“I wanted to get on it right away and I was in the area anyway. There’s a flea market for baby clothes, so I could combine the two errands.”

Treville got to his feet. “So, do you know how we can get into the rooms?” Apparently, he was in a hurry. Porthos was just about to point out that Elodie was pregnant and needed to rest, but she stopped him. “No, no, it’s okay. Let me get the keys and I’ll be right back.” Elodie struggled to get back to her feet and Porthos helped her. Something was different today. Last time she had had no trouble getting around even with her pregnant belly.

Elodie went to the staff quarters and came back a few minutes later with a key card. “This is a skeleton card, it will get us in every room.” Porthos smiled and held out his hand for the card.

“No, I’m coming with you, after all I’m vouching for it.”

A short elevator ride brought them up to the third floor. Once Elodie had opened the door for him, Treville went into his former room, while Elodie and Porthos went on to Porthos’ old room.

Porthos searched every nook and cranny – the bathroom, the lamps, the wardrobes, but didn’t find anything. He was ready to give up, when he had one final idea for a hiding place. He looked beneath the shelves and, lo and behold, there was something there, fixed to the underside with a piece of strong tape. He was just about to remove it, when Elodie doubled over in pain. “Ahhhh…” She tried to suppress a moan, but Porthos was at her side immediately.

“Is it coming?”

Elodie nodded, unable to speak. “Yes. Oh God, it hurts.”

“Come, sit down.” He said, helping her onto the bed and gently stroking her back. He kept pushing against her pelvis. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she was breathing heavily.

Again and again her contractions came. “Good, the interval is getting shorter, we’re almost there. So, if you feel like pushing, then do it as hard as you can.”

Elodie shook her head and reached for his hand with a pained expression. “I can’t. I’m afraid.”

“Hey,” Porthos said, gently stroking back a strand of hair from her face. “You’re a strong, independent woman. There’s nothing you can’t do. And I’ll help you,” he promised, squeezing her hand for confirmation.

Elodie wasn’t convinced, but he gave her strength. It was strange that a man she had only met a few days ago could give her so much confidence, but right now she didn’t mind. “Are you an expert in childbirth?” she asked, just to make sure.

“I grew up in a social housing project. Our neighbor had seven kids. So, yes, I have helped a woman give birth before.”

After roughly thirty minutes, Porthos handed her a small bundle. Elodie reached out and admired her little girl. She was really perfect. Porthos had used a couple of towels to clean the baby up. Now he sat on the bed beside the mother and child. There was a knock on the door and both of them flinched. Had the guests come back? How could they explain what happened?

Porthos went to the door and relaxed when he saw Treville. Treville followed Porthos into the room. “What the….?” Flabberghasted, he looked first at Elodie and then at the newborn baby in her arms.

“It happened so suddenly,” Elodie said, overjoyed. Treville patted Porthos on the shoulder approvingly. “We should really leave now,” he said, serious again. Porthos nodded. Elodie started to get up. “No, let me.” Porthos simply picked her up and carried her out of the room.

They were lucky, the corridor was empty. They quickly went into the stairwell and left through the back entrance Elodie pointed out to them. They had left a very generous tip in the room and later Treville would call the hotel and let them know that the room required a thorough cleaning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you liked the chapter? What about the scene with Elodie and Porthos. Also huge thanks to DebbieF, Hsg, Sigmund and LadyNeve for the comment.


	13. Won battles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. I was so happy to get so much positive feedback from you. Thank you. Really. And now the explanation for the big delay of the upload is coming….. I will change the upload plan. I always upload a chapter every third day. But with my job, which is now really stressful and my project to write a first book, I need a little more time. Also I m really under pressure to write a chapter in 3 days. Now Im on a point, I don’t have fun anymore while I write. And the most important thing is to like what you do. I hope you will understand that. With a week to write a new chapter I can also rework my chapters and give you more and a better work. I hope you will stay as a reader with me. 
> 
> Here are the pictures of the sightseeing tour  
> [oceanic Museum](https://www.pinterest.de/pin/169166529738725309/%22)  
> [Royal palace](https://www.pinterest.de/pin/169166529738725294/)  
> [Red Room](https://www.pinterest.de/pin/169166529738725315/)  
> [Japanese Garden](https://pin.it/zxza7zlnthboyy)  
> And the outfits:   
> [Aramis Outfit](https://www.pinterest.de/pin/169166529738725392/)  
> [Anne Outfit](https://www.pinterest.de/pin/169166529738725364/)  
> [Constance Outfit](https://www.pinterest.de/pin/169166529738725442/)  
> [D'artagnan Outfit](https://pin.it/b5mcrmv5o2cian)

After the talk with Nicollier, Anne wanted to talk to Feron as well. She had discussed it with Constance and her friend was in favor of the idea. However, Constance had insisted on accompanying Anne. They wanted to go to Feron before speaking with Louis. Luckily, they didn't have to make the trip to his villa, since he came to them.

Anne and Constance were sitting outside on the terrace of the Crystal Bar.

"Anne, I'm glad to meet you, I have some documents that require your signature. Official documents for the business here at the coast." Feron handed her a file, but the few documents it contained hardly justified the long trip.

"I, or rather we, wanted to speak with you anyway," Anne said, taking the file, but putting it down beside her, concentrating more on the coming discussion.

"Oh, what about?" Curious, Feron pulled over a chair and joined Anne and Constance at their table.

"Well, Nicollier is the owner of the casino," Anne started.

"Yes, I know. The man certainly knows his way around money," Feron said, laughing.

Constance almost choked on her drink. "A little too well, don't you think?" Feron gave her a confused look.

"We found out that Nicollier uses his casino for money laundering," Anne blurted out the truth.

Feron clapped his hand over his mouth in feigned, and overdone, surprise. Constance rolled her eyes at the spectacle.

"For God's sake, how did you find that out? We have to notify the police immediately, and terminate our business association with him. What would that mean for us?"

"I already settled it with him. We won't involve the police, but we will terminate any business with him. He will retreat accordingly," Anne explained.

"If I had known, I would never have introduced him to Louis. I had no idea about all of this," Feron continued to protest his innocence. Anne and Constance didn't really believe him, but they had only their gut feeling telling them that Feron knew more than he said.

"Good, that's settled then." Anne and Constance had finished their drinks and got up to leave. "I think we'll stay in contact. Have a nice evening." The two women left the bar, while Feron stayed where he was, the documents on the table still untouched. Face unscrutable, he was staring off into the distance. No one would be able to guess the thoughts running through his mind.

Anne and Constance went to the elevators. "I don't really believe him," Constance said. Anne nodded. "We should keep an eye on him. We'd best ask Aramis and D'Artagnan again, if and what they intend to do concerning Feron's house," she said.

"Very good."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After their meeting with Feron, Constance went up to her room. Anne wanted to go to Louis and found him in his suite.

"Anne, how are you? You were gone so quickly. I was still at the poker table."

"Yes, I'm sorry. We've been sitting in the sun so long, that I had a slight migraine," Anne lied. Louis understood and did not inquire further. He offered her a chair and Anne came right to the point.

"Unfortunately, we need to take Nicollier out of the equation. He informed me, that he is going to retire. Family matters, he wants to concentrate on his own business. An extension of it to match up with our plans would be too much work, he said." Anne deliberately lied. She had agreed with the bodyguards and Constance to keep Louis in the dark about the real reasons for the time being. Who knew, how big this would turn out to be in the end.

"Well, really. We invite him, let him in on everything, make plans together, and then this? What kind of partner is that? What kind of businessman? I don't get it. Do the others know already? Feron? The other partners?" Furious, Louis poured himself a glass of wine.

"Feron already knows, and I will of course notify the other partners immediately."

"Oh Anne, what would I do without you? We have to…."

Milady's arrival interrupted Louis. "Darling, the water in the cove was so clear! A pity you weren't there. Oh, Anne, sorry, I didn't see you there."

Louis greeted his beloved with a kiss. The sight of Milady in a bikini had already driven the talk with Anne from his mind. "Mon Amour, Nicollier has left our partnership, just like that. Didn't want to take on any more work, can you believe it?"

Anne didn't like it that Louis told Milady such important information, but she couldn't very well say anything.

"Oh, really? Sorry about that, darling. Really mysterious, to just walk out like that," Milady remarked, more to herself than to the others in the room.

Louis nodded and took another sip of this wine. "Anne, we should talk about how to proceed from here." He said, turning back to his cousin. Milady saw an opportunity. "You do that, darling, and I'll take a quick shower to wash off the salt," she said, giving him another kiss, before she disappeared into the bathroom.

Once safely behind the closed door, she ignored the shower, turned on the faucet of the washbasin and sat down on the toilet. She had unobtrusively taken a burner phone out of her bag earlier and dialed a number now. "Nicollier is out of the race. I think the four bodyguards have something to do with that. Louis knows next to nothing." Without another word, she ended the call.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Porthos left the hotel with Elodie and Treville. They went directly to the hospital, where mother and child could get checked out. Elodie assured them, that everything was alright, but Porthos and Treville insisted. At the hospital, Porthos accompanied Elodie into the treatment room, and considerately waited outside the door until the check-up was over. Treville went back to the hotel.

After the examination, Elodie and the baby were admitted to the maternity ward. Porthos went with them to keep Elodie company for a little longer. They talked a lot and every now and then glanced over at the cute little baby. "Have you decided on a name yet?" Porthos asked.

"No, my husband wanted to choose a name, and then, after his death, I just couldn't think of one."

"Well, there's still time for that."

Elodie nodded, deep in thought.

"How are you going to cope? Do you have someone to help you?" he asked.

"Yes, I have two girlfriends, we share a flat together, they will help me. We'll manage somehow," Elodie said, sounding very sure. Porthos looked at her admiringly. She was a very strong, determined woman and he liked that in her. "I would…." He started, but didn't know how to go on. He wanted to help her, but he was who he was and he couldn't change that.

"I understand," Elodie said, putting her free hand on his arm, while holding her peacefully sleeping baby daughter with the other.

"I'm a soldier and that's never going to change. Even if I'm no longer on the front line in my current job, I still feel like a soldier."

Elodie understood him. "Of course," she said, and they smiled at each other.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After her talk with Louis, Anne went to Constance. Her friend was on the balcony, looking down on the hustle and bustle on the street. "Hey, you. How did it go with Louis?" Constance asked.

"He took it pretty well and did not ask any more questions. Milady came in, but she retreated quickly. Looks like we won this battle," Anne reported. Constance raised her eyebrows at the word "battle", but didn't say anything.

"So, what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" Anne asked.

"Well, it's barely midday, we could go sightseeing in Monte Carlo. So far we haven't seen very much of it, Constance suggested.

"Good idea," Anne said. "Shall we meet downstairs?"

Constance nodded. "Yes, I'll inform Athos, I'm sure we need our personal protection." They both had to laugh, they were slowly getting used to not being able to go out alone.

Fifteen minutes later, the two ladies met with Marc, Henry, Aramis and D'Artagnan in the lobby. Anne was wearing a close fitting maxi-skirt with a long slit on the right side. The top was a black neckholder. A wide dark brown belt masked the transition from top to skirt. This time, Anne had chosen flat black sandals and gold jewelry. A large pair of sunglasses and a brown and black straw bag completed her outfit.

Constance had decided on a powder blue short dress with a row of buttons down the front of the top. It was sleeveless and held together at the waist with a blue cloth belt. She wore brown Roman-style sandals, brown bracelets and a large brown and beige bag.

First they went into the city center, called Monaco-Ville. They had taken two cars, with D'Artagnan, Aramis and the ladies in the first, and Henry and Marc as backup in the second.

"It's one of the oldest parts of the city," Constance read from a guide book. Anne listened attentively. "It's home to the Prince's Palace and a museum. Oh look, the oceanographic museum! We have to go there!" Constance showed Anne a few pictures. Aramis had heard them and entered the museum into the GPS system, and a few minutes later they stopped in front of the entrance and left the cars.

"Oh look, that's wonderful," Constance said, reading the info text at the entrance, describing what the museum had to offer. D'Artagnan was enraptured by his girlfriend and would have agreed to anything. Aramis wasn't too keen on a visit, and Anne, too, would have preferred enjoying the beautiful weather, but she new how much Constance loved marine animals. Henry seemed to be delighted as well and offered to go with them, so they left Marc to guard the cars and went inside.

The museum was enormous. There were three large areas. First, they went to a gigantic whale skeleton, where an impressive light and sound show was taking place. Large cushions were scattered around, so they sat on the ground and listened to the sound of whales and to a voice narrating some facts about the animals. From there, they went on to the Shark Lagoon.

The shark tank had a few leopard sharks. Constance was the first to discover them and went over so quickly, that D’Artagnan had trouble keeping up with her.

“Look, people are putting their hands in the water,” Constance said, interestedly watching as a shark swam up to the hands dangling in the water and the visitors could touch the animal’s skin.

“Yes, but don’t you go putting your hand….” Before D’Artagnan could finish his sentence, Constance’s hands were already in the water. D’Artagnan rolled his eyes and watched the situation skeptically. He stood as close as possible beside her, so that he could pull her hands out of the water if necessary. Constance didn’t care, she was as ecstatic as a kid in a candy shop to be touching a leopard shark.

Anne stood close to the tank as well, but to Aramis’ relief she didn’t put her hands into the water.

“Beautiful animals, aren’t they?” Henry asked Constance, who nodded delightedly.

“Henry, weren’t you supposed to keep an eye on the back area?” D’Artagnan reproached him and Henry moved back, a sad expression in his eyes.

Once they had managed to lure Constance away from the shark tank, they went on to the “Tropical Oceans” area, which had a large tank with a coral reef. The most colorful fish were swimming around inside. Once again, Aramis and D’Artagnan stood beside Anne and Constance. All four of them were raptly staring into the blue deep, again and again astonished at the ever-changing array of species passing by the plexiglass panes.

Lastly, they went to the third area, showcasing the Mediterranean Sea, which also held more than a hundred species to observe.

With a lot of new impressions, they went back to the cars, where they found a bored Marc. Aramis and D’Artagnan were angry to see, that he was just sitting in one of the cars, playing a game on his cell phone. That was certainly not what they had had in mind, when they had given him the task of guarding the cars. As a new recruit, you had to do the boring tasks as well, they had all been through that.

Anne and Constance managed to save Marc from a dressing-down with their request to visit the Prince’s Palace next. Once there, Aramis and D’Artagnan went to get the tickets, while Henry and Marc were waiting with the ladies. That gave Anne and Constance a chance to admire their men, who were once again looking very handsome, Aramis in beige Bermuda shorts and a black v-neck t-shirt, simple sand colored sneakers and a black cap, and D’Artagnan in dark Bermuda shorts, a light blue shirt, blue sneakers and a jeans cap.

Unfortunately, the men returned quickly and the ladies had to stop their discreet drooling. They could only visit the state rooms, that would have to be enough. They went through the Hercule Gallery with its paintings of the 16th and 17th century into the courtyard, which had a staircase similar to the one at Fontainebleau. “Makes you feel right at home,” Aramis joked, making Anne laugh.

This time Marc came with them and Henry remained behind with the cars. Marc wasn’t really interested in the visit, but that only meant that he could concentrate better on the surroundings.

After the gallery, they went into the chapel and lighted candles for the deceased and observed a few moments of silence, lost in their own thoughts and prayers. Anne thought most of all about Louis, while Constance thanked the Lord, that D’Artagnan had recovered so well.

Their next stop was the Mirror Gallery. “Monaco has apparently copied from everywhere. First Fontainebleau, now Versailles.” D’Artagnan wasn’t really interested in the palace, but Constance just pulled him along, so he just had to bear it. The next rooms weren’t any more interesting, at least for D’Artagnan and Aramis – the Red Room, which, as the name suggested, had been furnished entirely in red; the York Room, with its marble mosaic table still used for the signing of official documents, and the Blue Room which held portraits of past Grimaldis.

Some they recognized immediately, with others it was more difficult. At the end, they went to the Throne Room. Anne wanted to sit on the throne, but unfortunately, she wasn’t allowed to, even after Aramis had argued with the security man in the room. No one was allowed to sit on that throne.

A little disappointed, but glad that they had visited the palace, the small group went back to the cars. Anne and Constance expected them to go back to the hotel, but D’Artagnan and Aramis had a little surprise for them. The ladies didn’t notice that the cars took a different route and only realized that the palace had not been the last stop of their sightseeing tour, when the cars stopped in a parking lot.

Aramis and D’Artagnan tried to come up with an excuse for both Marc and Henry to stay behind with the cars. “This time you’ll both stay with the cars. This is a very public place and we need both cars to be ready at a moment’s notice. Understood?”

Marc and Henry didn’t quite believe Aramis, but they knew better than to argue, and the little group left.

“Where are we?” Anne asked.

“In the Japanese Garden. I thought a little walk would be nice,” Aramis explained, taking her hand.

D’Artagnan got the hint and pulled Constance in a different direction, so the two couples could be on their own.

Aramis and Anne crossed a little red bridge and took a seat on a bench under a large canopy, where they could snuggle together and enjoy the beautiful nature around them. They were so engrossed in each other that they – or rather Aramis – didn’t keep an eye on their surroundings as usual.

Anne sat with her head resting against Aramis’ shoulder and her legs in his lap. Aramis had his arm around her shoulders, gently stroking up and down her back. He was so focused on the woman in his arm, that he didn’t notice a man nearby taking photos of the cozy little scene. Due to the high-power telephoto lens the man was able to take clear and detailed pictures.

D’Artagnan and Constance, on the other hand, didn’t have a watcher, and talked a lot, about what happened during the Marmion incident and about D’Artagnan’s past. Constance had a barrage of questions, what he did, who he had worked with and where he had been stationed. Some things D’Artagnan couldn’t answer. At first, Constance thought that he didn’t want to answer and lowered her eyes to the ground in sadness.

“Hey, I would tell you if I could, but it’s a matter of secrecy, telling you would put you in danger and that’s the last thing I want,” D’Artagnan said, gently pushing her head up with a finger under her chin, and gave her a heartfelt kiss. Constance smiled, gently pushing him away a little. “D’Artagnan, we’re in a public place here.”

“So, let them see how happy I am.”

Constance grinned, deliriously happy, but then pulled him down the path with her. They had agreed to meet back up with Aramis and Anne, after all, and by now dusk had fallen.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Porthos had left the hospital after making sure that Elodie and the baby would get the best possible care. Now he was meeting in the bar with Athos, who had already had dinner and now indulged in a glass of whiskey. Porthos came over to him, sat down and put a bug on the table between them. “Where was it?” Athos asked, picking up the electronic device.

“In one of the rooms. Treville found others as well.”

Athos nodded.

“We could check the serial numbers,” Porthos suggested and Athos nodded again. “And that took you so long? You left early this morning. “

Porthos grinned. “Eloise gave birth to her baby, and I had to help her. And afterwards I took the both of them to the hospital.” Athos nodded. That was Porthos to a T, always helping everyone. It was simply his nature and Athos appreciated that in his friend. He got to his feet.

“What, you don’t want to have a drink with me? I only just sat down.”

Athos shook his head. “I’ll take this straight to Nathan.”

Porthos grinned. When would that man ever relax? “Okay, then you can let him in on the whole thing at the same time.”

Athos looked at him questioningly.

“He’s going to find out anyway.” Athos rolled his eyes, but eventually nodded.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Nervously, Nicollier stood in front of Guise’s door. The housekeeper opened and bade him enter. Without a word, she pointed at the door to the office and left again. Nicollier slowly approached the door. He was not an easily frightened man, but Guise commanded an awful lot of respect. And Nicollier did respect him. He knocked on the door and waited. From inside an annoyed “come in” could be heard. Nicollier took a deep breath and entered Guise’s office.

“Nicollier, is it important? I have a phone conference with Spain in a few minutes,” Guise asked,not even looking up from his computer.

“Yes, I wanted to inform you, that I regretfully have to withdraw,” Nicollier explained, nervously shifting from one foot to the other.

“What do you mean?”

“It has been suggested to me to withdraw from the business venture with Louis and I have agreed.”

“Who ‘suggested’ it, and most of all, why did you agree without consulting me first?” Annoyed and angry, Guise rose from his chair and looked Nicollier straight in the eyes.

“I….I have no idea how they managed to find out, but they had evidence, so I had no choice. They would have ruined me.”

Guise, usually known for his calm and reasonable manner, grew impatient. “Let me ask you one last time: who and what evidence?”

“Anne, Louis’ cousin, and her assistant. They had proof that the casino is involved in laundering counterfeit money.”

Guise remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, he slammed his hand flat on the table. Nicollier flinched. Guise sat back down and took a pen. “How?” he asked.

Nicollier recovered quickly from his shock. “I don’t know. They must have broken into the casino. They had photos.”

Guise nodded. “Leave. You’re useless to us now. The door’s behind you,” he dismissed Nicollier ungraciously and started typing on his computer again. Nicollier remained where he was for a few more seconds. He had hoped that Guise was joking. However, the man was not known to make jokes, so Nicollier slowly turned around and left the room. Once the door had closed, someone stepped out of the darkened half of the room and approached Guise’s desk.

“So Nicollier is out of the running,” the man, who turned out to be Guise’s son, Michele, said.

“He was always a weak link. Now that link is no longer a problem.” Michele nodded, his father was right about that.

“I would like to find out how two nondescript women with a few math skills could find out about the money laundering. So quickly, I mean,” Michele suggested.

Guise gave him a searching look. “You have to be careful. Nothing must point back at us. We must not attract their attention,” he warned his son. Michele understood. “I will be careful, trust me.”

Guise nodded and dismissed him with a wave of his hand. Michele was glad to be given such an important task, and was already planning his next steps.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Louis was pacing in his room. He was still in shock from Nicollier’s decision and also deeply disappointed. Milady sat on the bed, listlessly flipping through a fashion magazine.

Louis reached for the telephone. “Treville? We will leave tomorrow. We will depart from this scandalous city. I want to go to Grasse. Make it happen.”

Before Treville could ask or say anything, Louis hung up again.

“Louis? We’re going to Grasse? But what about the Grand Prix of Monaco on the weekend? I don’t want to leave,” Milady whined. Louis disregarded her words with a wave of his hand. “No, we will not stay here. I want to leave, now, and you will come with me. End of discussion.” Louis said, stubbornly. He went over to the bar and poured himself a drink.

Milady watched him with a worried look. He was slipping away from her and she had to do something against it. When they left here, she wouldn’t be able to investigate Nicollier any longer and find out why he had so suddenly withdrawn from their business venture. She sighed deeply. This job was turning out harder than she had thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the end I wanna say thank you to Lady Neve, DebbieF, Sigmund for the comments. I’m so happy when I’m reading you thoughts about my work. Also thank you to the guests who left kudos. And   
> A big welcome to a new reader NynneCG. I hope you also like the new chapters.


	14. The world of books

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, just a quick thank you for the positive feedback from DebbieF. Thank so much for your understanding. So now we are starting with coast of dreams Sunday. I hope you like that chapter. I think the idea is pretty cool.  
> Outfit:  
> [Anne](https://pin.it/pjbd2ritsh5rsp)  
> [Constance](https://pin.it/7yadc2a7yqgvjf)  
> [Aramis](https://pin.it/nnz6haspeptlw3)  
> [Athos](https://pin.it/3bj24aezq72l3w)  
> Locations:   
> [Hotel](https://pin.it/2vjfpoy36qrqzd)  
> [Pool](https://pin.it/ixpzftrvl42jwl)  
> [Coco and Igor Suite (Louis)](https://www.pinterest.de/pin/169166529738744996/)  
> [Cole Porter Suite (Anne)](https://pin.it/6vjqgl27e5mvpx)  
> [Bertie Raum (Constance)](https://pin.it/kl4jlar2mbxov7)  
> [Bardot Raum (Trevilles)](https://pin.it/owq57sai2h3bhm)

The next morning came and the preparations for their departure had been underway since sunrise. A few bellhops put the luggage into the Mercedes van, while the bodyguards got the cars ready to depart and checked the individual bags. Vincent threw a bag into the trunk of an SUV. "I'm sick of it!" he complained, tromping back to the luggage cart for the next suitcase. "We're constantly changing hotels and have to pack and unpack all the time. Enough is enough!" He behaved like a little child, and Porthos and Athos were visibly annoyed by the behavior of this particular recruit. Porthos just rolled his eyes, he had seen it before during the training sessions. Athos was sick and tired of Vincent's whining, but before he could say anything, Vincent clammed up and doubled his tempo.

Athos looked around to find out what might have caused that sudden change. Treville was just coming down the small staircase at the hotel's entrance to check how far the preparations had come. That explained it. Little Vincent wanted to make a good impression in front of Treville, but the man didn't  even notice him. He just glanced across the working bellhops to the cars.

"Ah, good morning, Monsieur Treville," Vincent greeted him effusively. Treville gave him a short nod and walked over to Athos. Porthos, who was standing beside Vincent, patted the young man on the shoulder, laughing heartily. "There you have it, you have to work hard and often you don't get appreciation or approval. That's just the way this business is."

Vincent grumbled under his breath. He wanted the recognition, he wanted to be noticed. After all, he was the best of the new recruits. At least he thought so. He was conceited enough that he had once told the others, that he could easily replace D'Artagnan.

Porthos saw some potential in the man, but he still had a lot to learn.

Meanwhile, Treville was talking to Athos. "I would like to check out the hotel before hand. Get the lay of the land. We don't want Grimaud to surprise us a second time. I think, Porthos has things well in hand here, and Aramis and D'Artagnan are there to help as well. "

Athos nodded and fetched his jacket, which he had taken off before helping to load the cars. Treville went to the first car in line and got in. Athos went over to Porthos and informed him. "Looks like our Captain is back to his usual form then," Porthos remarked.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Anne and Constance were in Anne's suite, packing up the last of their things. A bellhop stood at the door, waiting impatiently. "Well, he certainly won't get a tip," Constance said, annoyed at the bellhop's impatience.

Anne shook her head. "With all that moving, you'd think we should get better at packing."

Constance shrugged it off. "Not as long as we keep buying new stuff. We had better buy some more bags or suitcases."

"Yes, or have some of the things shipped back to the chateau, that should be possible."

"Good idea, I'll speak with Treville about that."

After another ten minutes, they were finally ready. It took the both of them to close the suitcases and hand them over to the bellhop, then they went down, where the others – Aramis, Henry, Nathan, Marc and D'Artagnan – were already waiting for them.

Constance pulled D'Artagnan a short distance away from the rest of the group.

"So, are you looking forward to Grasse?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't know the city. Have you been there before?"

"No, but I heard the city is famous for perfume," he said.

"Oh, maybe I can buy a birthday present for Anne there, then."

D'Artagnan nodded distractedly.

"By the way, last night was wonderful," Constance words brought D'Artagnan back to the present.

"Mhmmm, I'm hoping for a few repeat performances in Grasse. As boring as the city is supposed to be, I'm sure we can steal away some time," D'Artagnan said, grinning at her. Constance blushed.

"Hey, you two, we're ready to leave. Are you coming?" Aramis called out to them and went over to the cars with Anne. D'Artagnan and Constance sprang apart and followed them.

The drive took an hour and unfortunately, pretty soon they had to leave the coastal road and say goodbye to the view of the sea. The ladies, especially Constance, took the opportunity to catch up on their sleep. They all woke up again as Aramis, who was driving the car with Anne, Constance and Porthos, turned into the gravel driveway of the hotel. The hotel was situated outside of the city, making it very quiet and the countryside surrounding it seemed endless. The main building they were heading towards had three floors. It was a light colored brick building, which had clearly been standing here for a number of years, but it looked well-maintained. In front of the building was a small garden with the narrow, covered walkway. Everything had been designed with a lot of love.

Constance and Anne were flabberghasted, and even Aramis and Porthos were struck speechless at the contrast to the last hotels.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Athos and Treville arrived well before the others. "Very different from the other cities, isn't it?" Treville remarked as they got out of the car. Athos agreed. They went through the entrance into a small reception area, where a younger woman greeted them. "Bonjour, how nice that you found your way to us. However, I had expected a larger group."

"Yes, Madame, the rest of our group will arrive in an hour or two, but we wanted to check the security before their arrival. Monsier Treville, we spoke on the phone," the captain said, holding his hand out to her.

"Ah, Monsieur Treville, yes, you mentioned something like that. I'll get you the room keys you requested." She went back to the reception desk, took the keys from the safe and handed them to Athos. He took them and went up the stairs. Treville promised the receptionist that they would return the keys as quickly as possible, before he followed him.

First, they checked out the Igor and Coco Suite, which was intended for Louis and Milady. The suite was decorated in yellow and blue, with windows looking down into the garden. Compared to the Hermitage, the suite was rather small and simple, but it would be sufficient for their stay.

The next room was the Cole Porter Suite, which would be for Anne. The bed stood against a rough stone wall, which made the suite cozy and rustic. Everything was decorated in earthy tones, with a few colorful accents.

One floor above was Constance's room, called the Bertie Room. It had a large four-poster bed which took up most of the room. Every fabric had a small, cozy pattern. The open wooden beams on the ceiling gave the room a nice French cottage look.

Treville's room was one of the smallest. It had a small double bed and was otherwise rather sparsely furnished, but for his requirements it was enough. There were a few comfortable chairs and a low couch table at the foot of the bed, so he would be able to hold a few meetings in his room.

Athos and Treville split up the rooms. When they were done, tAthos ey met in the corridor on the top floor. "And?" Treville gave Athos a questioning look. "I found nothing. No bugs, no cameras, everything is clean."

"Good, it was the same for me. Let's keep it that way. I spoke to the proprietess. We're the only guests, so we can close off the hotel and make sure no one gets in without our knowledge."

"Good, I will leave pictures of Grimaud at the reception desk, so that they keep an eye out as well. I noticed that there is no other way in except the one we took."

"Okay, do that. And send the photo to the others as well, in case anyone needs their memory refreshed."

"If we have to guard the hotel and accompany the king and his family on excursions, that means double shifts for all of us," Athos warned.

"Then so be it. They all knew that this trip would not be a vacation. If someone needs a break, he's to let me know and I will send for a replacement from the chateau."

"Good, I'll inform the men accordingly."

Before Treville could say anything else, the receptionist came up the stairs to them. "Monsieur, the king has just arrived."

"Thanks, we'll be right down."

They followed the woman back down again.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After a welcome cocktail at the pool, Louis and Milady went up to their room. The suite was really very romantic. Louis was unpacking his laptop and Milady lay on the bed and pouted, not really satisfied with the arrangement.

"You know, Coco and Igor are supposed to have stayed here. A little like you and me. You, beautiful like Coco and I…well, strong and manly like Igor. A really romantic suite they've given us here," Louis gushed. He loved the, as he called it, simple life in the country. The rural atmosphere was a welcome relief after the hectic cities they had had the last few weeks.

"Louis, it isn't romantic, it's provincial. Almost peasantly. There's nothing around, what are we supposed to do all day?" Milady hung her head. Louis ignored her question, humming softly to himself, while he unpacked. Milady took out her cell phone and held it up. "Great, there's not even cell phone reception here." She let the phone drop on the bed. It bounced once and crashed to the floor. Before Louis could tell her, how much a cell phone like hers cost, there was a knock on the door and Feron put his head in the door. "Ah, so here you are," he said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind himself without waiting for an invitation. "A really godforsaken place this is"

Milady gave Louis a 'see, I'm not the only one who thinks so' look, before she took a magazine from her bag and listlessly flipped through it. Louis ignored this as well and took a seat with Feron in the armchairs in the middle of the room.

"Why didn't you come back to Nice? Your rooms there are still available," Feron asked.

"I wasn't really comfortable in Monte Carlo, I had to leave that godforsaken city. But Nice didn't seem to be a suitable place to get some rest either, and I always wanted to come here. So, why not?" Louis explained.

"Why could anyone want to come here?" Feron asked.

"Business interests, dear brother. I have my eye on something."

Feron leaned forward. "What interests could there be here? There's nothing around but a couple of villages and agriculture, that's all."

Milady stopped flipping through her magazine and started to follow the conversation. Louis leaned back, grinning smugly. "You'll see."

Feron knew, that Louis wouldn't say anything more. If he wanted to, he could be as closed as an oyster. I should have spoken with the cousin, maybe she could tell me more, Feron thought. Since all that small talk had been rather uninteresting, Feron got up to leave. "Louis, before I forget," he said, halfway out of the door already, "why don't you meet with Soulier? He lives around here, you know. Only if your business permits it, of course."

"Yes, now that Nicollier is lost to our cause, we need to strengthen the other connections."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Once they had settled into their rooms, the four bodyguards met in Treville's room to discuss the next steps. "We checked every room as thoroughly as possible and found nothing. The hotel is clean," Treville reported. Porthos was very glad.

"We need to look at Feron and that alibi house again," D'Artagnan said. It still rankled that he hadn't found anything there, only had exposed himself to danger."

"Why Feron and what's this about an alibi house?" Treville looked around at the men. Dismayed, D'Artagnan quickly summarized what had happened. When he had finished, silence reigned for a few moments, before Treville jumped up. "How could you do that? And with your injuries? Didn't you take into account how dangerous that was? And you used to be in a recon unit. D'Artagnan I'm more than disappointed in you. And you even dragged Constance into it, too! Athos, did you know about this?" Treville asked, with a look at his second-in-command.

"No, or I would have stopped him. He only told me once he had already recovered from it."

Treville snorted, but sat down again and regained his calm. But the matter wasn't over with for D'Artagnan. "Since you're obviously craving some action and adventure, you can schedule yourself for hotel guard duty," Treville said  as a penalty.

D'Artagnan had expected something like this and accepted it wordlessly. Treville saw the regret in the youngest bodyguard's eyes and softened a little. "Good. But you're right. We have to take another look at that house, but this time we do it our way. Athos, Aramis, your turn. " Both men nodded, although they had little hope of finding anything. "We'd better take Nathan with us, maybe he can find something on the computer. Some kind of hidden files maybe," D'Artagnan suggested.

"I think we should keep this matter between us. The more people we involve in this, the more chance of something getting out," Athos argued.

"Maybe, but the boy has brains and has proven himself. And if D'Artagnan didn't see anything, you probably won't either." Athos wasn't convinced, but he bowed to necessity, so it was a done deal.

"Which guard duty were you talking about?" D'Artagnan asked concerning his penalty. "We'll guard the hotel, so that we can't be surprised again."

"Good, I'll set up a schedule for the men," Porthos suggested. Treville agreed. Porthos was on good terms with all themen, so he knew the strengths and weaknesses of everyone and would make the best possible use of them.

"What are we going to do about Grimaud?" Aramis directed the discussion back to the man who had wanted to hide the bugs in their rooms in Monte Carlo.

"We should keep an eye on him for now, see what he does, who he meets," Treville decided.

"That would be a good job for Vincent," Porthos suggested.

"Do you think he'll be up to it? He's pretty full of himself, he might be too conspicuous," D'Artagnan warned him.

"No, I think that's a good idea. We have to give the recruits some responsibility. Porthos, your call."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The rooms are really nice and the hotel is wonderful. A little out of the way, but now we can get some rest," Anne said. Constance nodded. "Yes, only now we have to unpack again."

"Wait, I'll help you." Anne came over to her and together they made short work of unpacking and stowing their luggage. They were both in Constance's room and wanted to do something useful with the rest of the day.

"We could take a look around the hotel," Anne suggested. Constance agreed and they left for their exploration. On the first floor they found a library, a smoking room and a small games room with a pool table and a number of board games. On the ground floor was the restaurant and the terrace.

Since the weather was hot, Anne wore a pair of short shorts in a cotton and linen mixture, with a wild pattern, matched with a simple light colored top and sandals. Constance had chosen a white, off-shoulder top, short jeans shorts and brown sandals. Once they had finished with the house, they went outside.

The hotel grounds were txtensive and held a tennis court, the pool and a large garden. At the pool, they found Milady lounging on a deck chair. Constance nudged Anne, when she saw the woman. "Look, over there."

"Oh, Milady, all alone. She looks very sad, doesn't she?"

"Maybe she broke a fingernail," Constance said, snarkily and wanted to turn in the opposite direction. Anne stopped her. "Wait, let's go over to her."

"What, you want to talk to her? Even though she always acts so haughtily toward us?"

Anne just nodded and pulled Constance along with her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After the meeting the men went their separate way. D'Artagnan wanted to look for Constance, Aramis and Athos wanted to check out Feron's house that same night and went to get ready and Porthos wanted to inform the other security men. He found most of them in the small smoking room, which doubled as a salon, and sent out Henry to round up the missing men.

"Porthos, what's going on?" one of the men asked.

"Nothing, just some information concerning the next couple of days, that's all."

The men grumbled and Porthos nodded the tension in the atmosphere. Henry arrived with the remaining guards and Porthos started.

"Okay, we're in a small hotel here, it has been booked just for us, so we can control who comes and goes. So we need to set up a guard rotation."

Before he could say anything else, one of the men spoke up. "What, more work? That can't be possible!" Some of the others agreed. Porthos tried to reassure them.

"We're men, we're soldiers. No one tells us 'you must'. No, we ask 'where do we go?' Or am I mistaken? We're proud soldiers of the king and we will protect him. Haven't we sworn that to our captain?"

He was laying it on pretty thickly, he knew, but he also knew that it was the right way to speak with men like these. They were all loyal employees. They protected the king. They just needed to be reminded of that every once in a while. And lo and behold some of the men were talking among themselves. "Okay, Porthos, but we're soldiers, not museum guards. You have to give us something."

Now Porthos knew where they were coming from. "You want a challenging task?" He threw the photos of Grimaud onto the table. "Here, this is our current enemy. He bugged us and he is a security threat. We have to guard against him, but we're not going to attack him yet. First we collect all information, then we hit him." The men fell on the photos, suddenly all afire again.

Porthos had done it once again. He could leave the men to their discussion now and approached Vincent. The young man stood a little apart from the other, not really motivated by Porthos' pep talk. "Vincent, I have a special assignment from Treville for you."

Vincent's eyes grew larger as Porthos spoke to him. He stood up straight and stared at him. "Oh, really, what is it, should I get my gun?"

"No, no, not that kind of assignment. We need YOU to keep an eye on Grimaud. You collect all possible information for us, understood? I want a report every five hours."

Vincent nodded enthusiastically and immediately went over to the other recruits. Most probably to brag, Porthos thought, but decided to let it go for today. He couldn't interfere all the time, let them learn for themselves.

That evening, Aramis and Athos got ready for their assignment. Aramis had told Anne that he would not be in the hotel and that she shouldn’t worry. However, that didn’t help her very much. He couldn’t tell her everything, only that she’d know more tomorrow morning. Anne trusted him and let him go with one last passionate kiss. “What did Nathan find?”

 

_//Three hours ago//_

_Athos found Nathan in the games room. “It has the best wifi signal,” the young man explained, before Athos could ask. Athos sat down across from him in one of the comfortable old armchairs. “Did you find out anything about the serial number?”_

_Nathan nodded and turned the laptop so that Athos could see the screen. “Yes, the device was bought in Saint Tropez, but whoever bought it paid cash.”_

_Athos nodded and pushed the laptop back around to Nathan again. “A lot of suspects are there. Feron, Grimaud, the Guise family…” He was talking more to himself than to Nathan. “Can you narrow it down?”_

_“Just to the shop, but it doesn’t have any cameras. Nothing. The only thing we could do would be to show the staff there photos of the people you mentioned.”_

_Not a bad idea, Athos thought. “Good, we’ll do that. One other thing, tonight 2200 hours, be ready. You’re coming with us.”_

_“Can’t, I’m on guard duty.”_

_“You’re excused,” Athos said simply and left again. Nathan remained behind, a little nervous. His first field assignment. What would it be like? Would he have to kill someone? Would he be in danger? Was whatever they would be doing legal? These and other questions chased themselves around in his head._

_//Present//_

Nathan already stood beside the cars, ready to go. He really was more than motivated, reminding Aramis of himself at Nathan’s age. They all got into the cars and drove out of Grasse. For their assignment they had all chosen, dark, comfortable and inconspicuous clothing. Aramis wore a black sweatshirt, a black leather jacket and black jeans. His sneakers were black as well. Athos had chosen dark grey, distressed jeans, a dark sports shirt, dark sneakers and a black basecap. Nathan’s jeans were a lighter grey, but he also wore a black shirt and hoodie. His sneakers were also black.

During the drive, they were all silent. Nathan tried to remember his training at Fontainebleau with Porthos and D’Artagnan, and Athos and Aramis were lost in their own thoughts. At Feron’s villa they parked the car some distance away, just like D’Artagnan had done. It was raining tonight and they were a little wet by the time they had reached the garage door. Before they started their search, Athos and Aramis installed small sensors in strategic places, which would send a signal to their smartwatches when someone entered the house.

Inside they gave the ground floor only a cursory search, since their intended target was the office. They didn’t waste much time, before they headed upstairs. Nathan immediately sat down at the desk and hooked his laptop up to that of Feron, while Athos and Aramis took turns watching over him and searching the room. Aramis stood in front of the book shelf and pulled out one of the books, because he recognized the title. It was “Il Principe”, by Niccolò Macchiavelli. When he lifted it up there was a small draft of air and the bookshelf moved. Aramis, the book still in his hand, was more than surprised. Athos stopped and looked at his friend. “What did you do?” he asked reproachfully.

“Well, either someone had a crappy way of putting up this bookshelf or we have found a second room here,” Aramis answered.

“Cool, like in a James Bond movie,” Nathan remarked, closing his laptop again. What happened in front of him was much more interesting. Athos went over to Aramis, who was just putting the book back into its place on the shelf. Then he and Athos pulled at the bookshelf and really found a hidden room behind it. “Shall we?” Aramis asked and stepped into the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to LadyNeve and DebbieF for the comments.


	15. Scents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, we are now in Grasse. What do you think? Also the pictures of outfits and location are here:   
> [secret door](https://pin.it/xywat43rmawjit)  
> [Louis Anne car](https://pin.it/mny2gj57aukjra)  
> [D'artagnan Constance Car](https://pin.it/ubj72baoo3s3be)  
> [map of grasse](https://pin.it/qw2prnxhbdbkwc)  
> [parfumery](https://pin.it/utbryfjcm6c5yb)  
> [laid table](https://pin.it/utbryfjcm6c5yb)  
> [Aramis](https://pin.it/uyndysczs7osy6)  
> [Milady](https://pin.it/pzl6yeryithat3)  
> [Constance](https://pin.it/n6qdfwdp74g252)  
> [Anne](https://pin.it/mbxwoayglabe7j)

Last time in chapter 14:

_When Aramis lifted the book up, there was a small puff of air and the bookshelf moved slightly. Together with Athos, he pulled on it and the whole bookcase moved, revealing a hidden room behind it. “Shall we?” Aramis asked and stepped into the room._

As soon as they stepped into the room, the lights went on inside. For a moment, they held their collective breath, but since the room was windowless, no one could notice their entrance, at least from the outside. Athos turned around and looked into the fake office again. “Are we absolutely sure Feron won’t come back tonight?”

Aramis nodded, stepping further into the room. “Yes, he’ll stay in Nice overnight. The hotel was paid for by credit card and the nice lady at the reception desk said, that he had already checked in and was not expected to leave the hotel this evening. If that changes, she’ll let me know immediately, so we’ll still have more than an hour to get away.”

Relieved, Athos and Nathan followed Aramis. The second room was furnished as an office, but without windows. Small lamps set into the ceiling providing enough light. A desk with a desktop PC stood opposite the secret entrance, and Nathan immediately took a seat behind it and set up his equipment.

Meanwhile, Athos and Aramis searched the rest of the room for further clues. As usual, they understood each other wordlessly, each man knowing exactly what to look for. Athos checked the walls, corners and floor for an alarm system, sensors or other technical equipment that could provide proof of their break-in, while Aramis checked the bookcase against the wall as well as the documents in the filing cabinet behind the desk.

This time they did find something and Aramis scanned each document into his cell phone. Once Athos had made sure that nothing could give their presence away, he helped Aramis with the large number of documents. Nathan had made himself at home in the comfortable leather desk chair and copied the whole content of the PC to an external hard drive he had brought with him. Since this would take a while, he had time enough to look around the room.

The dark wood desk was in the middle of the room, with a small cupboard and a filing cabinet behind it. To the left was a small sofa with a side table and a stool, also made of dark wood. The only lighter part was the glass plate of the table. Opposite the sofa stood a small bookcase. The whole room was rather small and the missing windows made it somewhat oppressive.

Nathan wouldn’t want to work in a room like that, but it seemed quite fitting for Feron. He didn’t really know the man very well, but he appeared to be a mysterious, sinister man. Who else would have an office behind an office? Nathan shook his head.

The file transfer had just been completed, when Athos’ and Aramis’ smartwatches started to vibrate.

“The sensors,” Aramis said and Athos immediately put the documents back into the filing cabinet. Aramis motioned to Nathan to pack up and the young man complied, throwing everything into his bag.

“We’ll leave through the back door and the garden,” Athos ordered and motioned for the others to leave the room. He brought up the rear, carefully pushing the bookcase in the fake office back into place, so that it seemed as if they had never been here, then he followed Aramis and Nathan, who had already headed for the back door on the ground floor.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

While his two friends were breaking and entering, Porthos had to stay behind in Grasse. He had just finished his duty shift and was on the way back to his room, when his cell phone rang. The name of the caller appeared on the display. Elodie. He answered immediately. “Bonsoir, Elodie. Is something wrong?”

<What? Oh no, no. Everything is fine. Why should something be wrong?>

“I just thought, because you’re calling at this hour of the night,” Porthos answered.

<I’m sorry. You’re right. I hope I didn’t wake you. It’s just that since the baby is born, my sense of time is a little out of whack.>

“Is she keeping you up?”

<No, not really, I think she just has a different rhythm. I’m getting enough sleep, just during the day, not at night. It’s not so easy.>

“When is it ever easy?” Porthos said, opening the door to his room.

<How are you doing? You sound tired.>

“I just finished my duty shift at the new hotel, that’s all.”

<Yes, I noticed that you all left very suddenly. Is everything alright?> Elodie sounded worried.

“Yes, it was just another one of Louis’ whims, nothing out of the ordinary.”

<Mhmmm, okay. What a pity, we hardly get to see each other. But I know that you have to follow Louis and your work.>

Porthos didn’t answer. What was there to say? This young woman was so much stronger than he was. She had given birth to a child, far from the nearest hospital, and now she was raising her daughter all on her own. He had fought in two wars and accomplished any number of missions, but he was impressed by the strength and dedication of this woman. He wanted to stay with her, had even thought about getting a job in Monte Carlo, but how was he supposed to care for Elodie and the baby?

Not a lot of companies would hire someone like him. There wasn’t much demand for a soldier in Monte Carlo and that was all he could do. And if he took another job as a bodyguard, he would have to travel again, so he could just as well stay with Louis. Elodie accepted all that without complaint.

<Well, maybe I could come visit you when you’re back in Fontainebleau?> Elodie suggested, breaking the silence.

“Yes, then I can take some time off and show you the city and maybe even Paris.”

<That sounds nice.>

Another silence. <Can you talk to me a little longer? I get a little lonely every now and then and if I keep talking to the baby, I feel like I’m losing my mind,> Elodie asked.

Of course he could. What kind of man would he be, if he denied her this wish? Talking to her was the least he could do.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Next morning, they all met for breakfast in the garden. The table was set with a lavish spread of regional specialties and home-made dishes. Anne immediately noticed how tired Aramis was.

“You didn’t have to come down,” she said, giving him a compassionate look.

“Ah, it’s okay. And we don’t want anyone else to know that we broke into Feron’s house last night, so we couldn’t be notably absent,” Aramis whispered back.

“Did you at least find anything?”

“Oh yes, we did. Feron really had something to hide. We have collected a lot of information and documents. I’ll tell you about it later, when we’re alone.”

Aramis had already noticed that Milady was following their conversation with interest. She sat far enough away not to hear anything, but he had no idea, how good she was at lip reading.

“Okay. I’m just glad that you – all of you – came back in one piece,” Anne said, smiling, resting her hand on his thigh under the table. He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, but quickly let go of her hand, when he saw Louis approaching Anne from the other side.

“Anne, good morning. We will visit a factory today. They’re distilling perfume. A really wonderful company. We leave in an hour.”

Without another word and without waiting for Anne’s reply or agreement, Louis went back to Milady.

“He could have asked, if you wanted to join him.” Aramis had never liked the way Louis treated Anne and was sorely tempted to say something, but loyalty and a sense of honor always stopped him.

“Well, in that case I can only look at what you found later. Will you put the documents in my room?” Anne asked.

“Of course.” Aramis looked at her again. They both could have happily stared into each other’s eyes for hours, but they had to pull themselves together. They weren’t alone, after all, and someone was bound to notice.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

At the appointed time, Anne was in front of the hotel, waiting for the others. Constance, Porthos and D’Artagnan would accompany them as well. Louis came out of the hotel, but without Milady at his side. “Oh, Louis, is Milady not coming with us?” Anne asked.

“No, and we’re leaving right now.” Louis was practically seething with anger and mentioning Milady did nothing to improve his mood. He immediately got into the waiting SUV, a green Bentley with light colored leather seats and a high-class interior. A very nice car, in Porthos’ opinion, with the high ground clearance typical for an SUV, and ample space for the passengers in the back seat. Porthos was allowed to drive, with another guard joining him, Louis and Anne in the car.

Three additional guards followed them in a nondescript car, while D’Artagnan and Constance brought up the rear in a BMW convertible. Actually, that car had been intended for Louis and Milady, but since Louis had decided to take the Bentley and in his current mood it had been better not to speak to him, D’Artagnan took the opportunity and opened the door of the BMW for Constance. “Madame?” he said, motioning for her to get in.

“Can we do that?” Constance asked, unsure.

“Pfff, who cares. Louis certainly won’t. And who says we can’t have a little fun?”

Constance complied. He was right, they deserved to have a little fun. Once D’Artagnan had closed the door for her, he took the driver seat and followed the other two cars. Unfortunately, he and Constance didn’t get to enjoy the ride for very long. The perfume distillery was not that far away, so it took only eight minutes, before all three cars were parked in the large parking lot at the main entrance.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Like Athos and Aramis, Nathan, Henry and Marc had stayed behind at the hotel. Henry and Marc were on guard duty in the afternoon and Nathan was allowed to rest after his nightly assignment. Which, however, didn’t stop his two friends from grilling him.

“So, what was it like?” Henry started.

“Man, you alone on an important assignment with Aramis and Athos. I would like that.” Marc was envious. Nathan just grinned and dropped down on his bed. The three of them were in his room. Nathan had wanted to rest, but apparently the other two had other plans.

“Yes, it was great,” was all he said.

“Man, what did you do, where did you go? We just knew that you were on an assignment, but we couldn’t get any details,” Henry complained.

“Well, that’s the thing with confidentiality. Only a few people can know,” Nathan boasted.

“Hey, you don’t keep secrets from your friends! Come on, at least tell us what you did,” Marc pleaded.

“Mhmmmm, okay. But you have to promise not to tell anyone else.” The other two nodded.

“Okay, we broke into a house to gather information.”

“Breaking into a house? But that’s illegal!” Marc interrupted him.

“Who cares, we’re working for Louis, after all, and I think the home owner deserved it.” Henry shrugged.

“But the really cool thing was, that behind the bookcase in the office of the guy….”

“What guy?” Marc asked.

“The guy whose house we broke into, of course. Behind that bookcase another office was hidden.”

Henry and Marc stared at Nathan, goggle-eyed. Now they regretted even more that they hadn’t been included.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The director of the perfume distillery hurried out to meet them. “Ah, Monsieur, there you are, how wonderful! Welcome, welcome!” he greeted Louis enthusiastically, as soon as he had gotten out of the car. “My name is Monsieur Richard, the director of this wonderful plant and the museum. Please, follow me.” He shook Louis’ hand and waved him over to the entrance, where two nattily dressed young women were waiting to greet the guests with some refreshments. Once everyone had taken a glass – orange juice for the bodyguards, of course – they went inside.

Richard provided information on the plant on the way. “The company Fragonard was founded in 1782. It is no longer family-owned, but the values of the founders are still very important for us. We pride ourselves on providing unique products,” he praised his plant. Louis listened attentively. Anne, however, was wondering more and more, why they were here. It just wasn’t like Louis. He hated museums and guided tours like this, so there had to be more to it.

“I think it’s best, if we take a little tour through the museum and then I can show you, how we create some of the most expensive perfumes.”

Louis just nodded. The museum tour showed how the perfumes were created and explained the job of the “noses”.

“Ah, I see, so these employees smell the scents and continually invent new ones,” Louis deduced.

Richard nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, Monsieur. They are our most valued employees and are very highly trained. Their sense of smell is their capital.”

They walked on. In an adjacent room they were shown the manufacturing process of the perfumes, that is how they were distilled and what the individual components were. At the end, they were even allowed to mix something up for themselves, with the help of some employees. However, the results were only half as nice as they had imagined.

“Such things are better left to the professionals,” Louis said and immediately walked on. Richard hurried after him.

“Well, Monsieur, with a little experience you would be an outstanding perfume creator. But, please, follow me into the plant.” Richard showed Louis the way. Constance, Anne, Porthos and D’Artagnan followed behind them.

“Do you have an idea what we are doing here? Louis isn’t usually interested in perfume,” Constance asked Anne. Anne shook her head. “No, I don’t. Something must be going on here, but the drive was too short for me to find out anything.”

“Well, Monsieur, we still manufacture on-site here. We have outsourced the less expensive scents, but our most expensive ones are still created by hand, which makes them so unique. Look over there,” Richard said, pointing out an individual process step.

The bad air in the room made Anne and Constance hold their hands over their mouths. While Louis and Richard walked on, the two women stayed close to one of the windows.

“Excuse me, Monsieur, may I open the window? It’s hard to breathe in here,” Anne asked one of the employees. The man denied her request without an explanation. She was about to ask again, when Richard rushed over. Immediately, D’Artagnan and Porthos moved closer to Anne. Richard was in so much of a hurry, that they had to expect an attack.

“Ah, Madame, please. The workers don’t understand French, they all come from foreign countries. All specialists in their field. Please follow me,” Richard said, insistent that she caught up with Louis, who was almost at the other end of the building by now. Anne followed him, but she glanced back once again at the employee. To her it looked as if he had understood very well.

Porthos found it suspect as well. He was bringing up the rear of the group with D’Artagnan. “These people may all come from foreign countries, but I doubt that they’re all specialists. Just look at t hem. More likely they come straight out of a human trafficking container. Refugees, that’s what they are.”

D’Artagnan nodded. They both pitied the workers. Having to spend eight hours in this building without fresh air and with the noise of the machinery in the background definitely fell on less than adequate working conditions.

Porthos tried again. “Monsieur Richard, why can’t we just open one window?”

“Oh no, that’s impossible. We don’t want the secrets to our scents handed over – or in this case blown over – to our competitors. No, the exhaust fans are doing a good enough job.”

“Not much of a job, I’d say, since I can’t hear any fans,” D’Artagnan murmured to Porthos, who nodded grimly.

At the end of the tour, they were back outside where the cars were parked. “Thank you, Richard, for the tour. I think it provided a good look at the plant and how you work here,” Louis said, politely shaking Richard’s hand. “An honor,” Richard answered enthusiastically.

“As a thank you I would like to invite you to our little banquet this evening. Just for us, a few employees, and you, of course,” Louis said.

“Oh, it’s my absolute pleasure to accept!”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“So, what was it like there? Did you buy a lot of perfume?” Aramis asked Anne. He had come to her room as soon as he heard that they were back from their trip.

“Well, it was just the museum and he plant. The director talked a lot about the production process and things like that. But what really worried me, were the really bad conditions people have to work under there. Hardly any fresh air, all those smells and the noise from the machines. That should be reported to the responsible authorities.”

Aramis noticed that Anne was really worried. He pulled her close and put his arms around her. “My dear, your compassion honors you, but I’m sure that the authorities visit the plant regularly. We’re in France here, a modern country with effective laws.” Anne just nodded. She wasn’t really convinced by his argument, and she was certain that he wouldn’t be, either, if he had seen the conditions there.

At some point they had to go down to dinner, so they straightened their clothes and went to join the others in the garden. Aramis wore a light grey, short-sleeved shirt with black stripes on the breast pockets, black trousers and grey sneakers. Since it was a rather formal affair he also wore a dark grey suit jacket.

Anne had chosen a simple eggshell-colored shift dress, together with matching high heels and only a few pieces of jewelry.

The rest of the group was already in the garden and some of them were already seated at the table. The hotel staff had romantically decorated the seating area. Leaves and vines formed a canopy over the table and the latticework supporting them also held glass globes and goblets with candles. The long table had been set with golden underplates, wine glasses and cutlery. The middle of the table was decorated with leaves, dotted with more candles.

Anne didn’t take a seat yet, but joined Constance instead. Her friend looked very good in a coral colored sleeveless dress with pleated shoulders and a golden belt at the waist. She also wore nude high heels and a white blazer.

“You look absolutely incredible,” Anne said.

“Oh, thank you, but I can only return the compliment.”

Before Anne could say anything else, Louis came down with Milady and took his seat at the table, officially opening the banquet. Seated at the top of the table, he, Milady and their guest, Richard, talked amongst themselves.

“You know, Monsieur, we have some plans. I hope you have some capacity available. If I invest in something, I expect it to run.”

Richard only nodded.

“Good. You have already provided some plans, but I need to know more. But all in good time. First, I have a few other obligations. I need to meet with Soulier.”

“Oh, you are meeting with Soulier? A true citizen of Grasse,” Richard said.

“You know Soulier? What a coincidence.”

“Yes, he helps me out sometimes. With all these experts in our plant coming from various countries, work permits can take quite some time to obtain. He always deals very quickly with such matters for me,” Richard explained.

“Oh, that’s very helpful then.”

Constance, who had overheard everything, couldn’t help wrinkling her nose. So the man got work permits for his workers from that Soulier. That was certainly one way to get refugees into the country and have them work for a pittance. A true corporate thug.

Athos and Porthos also followed the conversation critically.

“What experts is he talking about?” Athos asked Porthos.

“At the perfume distillery, the men and women there have to work under terrible conditions. It’s hard to believe. Richard, the director of the plant, claims that they’re all experts from foreign countries, but it’s clear to see that they are just simple workers, most likely illegal refugees.” Porthos described the conditions in the plant and didn’t hold back.

Athos knew, that this topic affected Porthos deeply, so he let him speak, although he had heard it already from D’Artagnan. Every once in a while he glanced over to Milady. Today, she wore a skin-tight dark red dress with a deep sweetheart neckline that was much too revealing, and gold colored high heels. All in all, a really inappropriate dress for such a dinner.

The receptionist approached Anne. “Ah, Madame, could you please come to the reception desk for a moment?”

“Strange, everybody is already here.” Anne looked up and down the table, but she couldn’t think who might be missing and waiting for her in the lobby. Just to be on the safe side, Aramis accompanied her back into the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, did you liked the chapter? Let me know in the comments.   
> At the end thanks to the guest who left a kudo and to LadyNeve, Sigmund and DebbieF for the regular comments. This keeps one going.


	16. The city of perfume

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope you all had a perfect week. Here in Germany we had a free day on Wednesday. Was pretty awesome. But now, here is the new chapter. We get deeper inside of Grasse. The pictures are here:   
> [Downtown of Grasse](https://pin.it/tmjnlbxtr43f7y)  
> [Place aux Aires](https://pin.it/ynrc2sgfu6yryb)  
> [Notre Dame de Puy](https://pin.it/i3q5h5l75b6jg3)  
> [Jardins de la Princesse Pauline](https://pin.it/7hlie54ls7kx2w)  
> [Fete de la Jasmine](https://pin.it/3ckqmwda3nxjsm)  
> [Jeany](https://pin.it/eqro4dxsvrlx4h)  
> [Athos](https://pin.it/qmdwp2nciyaddk)  
> [Constance](https://pin.it/yaq5b6mr6l3fi)  
> [Anne](https://pin.it/o72yympxmmuee7)  
> [D'artagnan](https://pin.it/f32mid6jpk55np)

Anne went into the lobby, with Aramis following close behind her. When she saw, who was waiting for her, she walked faster. “Jeany, how wonderful to see you!” she said, fondly embracing her friend.

“Hello Anne, I’m glad I finally found you.”

“Welcome to Grasse. Why didn’t you say anything? We could have picked you up.”

Jeany just shrugged. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Do you want me to get Athos? I think he’s already finished with his dinner,” Aramis asked, after he had greeted Jeany, too, albeit not as enthusiastically as Anne, who was just getting Jeany’s room key from the receptionist.

“No, no, I’d like to unpack and settle in first,” Jeany answered.

“Of course. Come, I’ll show you your room, you’re on the same floor as Constance.”

Anne went ahead, pulling Jeany over to the stairs. Aramis took her luggage and trotted after them.

“So, here it is. The room is a little smaller,” Anne said, once they had reached the room.

“No, that’s more than enough for me. It is beautiful,” Jeany said, looking around. Aramis put down the luggage and retreated again. With Jeany here now, too, things between Milady and Athos were bound to become a lot more interesting. A true love triangle, Aramis thought on the way back to the others.

Anne stayed behind to help Jeany unpack. “So, how did you find us?” she asked.

“That wasn’t so easy. I knew from Athos that you were in Monte Carlo, at the Hermitage, so I went there first, but the receptionist told me that you had already checked out. With a little insistence, she told me that you had gone on to Grasse. Well, since Grasse is relatively small, it was easy to find this hotel, since it’s the only one matching Louis’ usual standard, so I tried my luck here first.”

“A real odyssey,” Anne said, impressed. Jeany had gone to a lot of trouble to find them.

“Why are you all here in Grasse, anyway?” Jeany asked.

“Oh, that’s a long story,” Anne said.

“I think we have time,” Jeany said, looking at the amount of clothes she still had to put away.

“Okay, so, first we were in Nice, where we met Feron.”

“Ah, Louis’ cousin?”

“His brother, actually. He’s responsible for the local business and he’s setting up a branch office here. One evening, he had organized a welcome party for us.”

“Oh, that’s very considerate of him,” Jeany remarked.

“Well, actually it was more for him than for us. A matter of prestige. We made a lot of acquaintances. The Guise family, for example, apparently one of the most powerful and influential on the coast.”

“More powerful than your family?”

Anne shrugged. “I have no idea. And even then, we don’t want to settle down here. There’s room enough for everyone. We also met Mourlon, he’s a big name in real estate, and Soulier, a politician, ore someone with connections to politics at any rate, I’m not quite sure. Oh, and Nicollier.”

“Yes, but how did you end up in Grasse?” Jeany avidly followed Anne’s story, but she was getting impatient.

“Hold your horses, I told you it’s a long story. Okay, we spent a few days in Nice, sightseeing in the city, and on the beach. We had a nice time, but at some point, Milady decided she wanted to go to Monte Carlo. And since Louis can’t say no to her, the rest of us had to tag along.”

“Who is Milady?” Jeany asked.

“Louis new lady friend. Has him wrapped around her little finger. She’s a little strange and mysterious, I don’t quite know what to make of her. Anyway, in Monte Carlo we stayed at the Hermitage, as you know. A very impressive hotel. And that’s where we met Nicollier again.”

“And who was that again?”

“A friend and business partner of Feron. He deals with finance matters here, and among other things he’s the owner of the casino in Monte Carlo, which we have also visited. But, believe it or not, we – Constance, I and the guys – have found out that Nicollier uses the casino to launder money.”

Jeany was surprised at how much she had missed.

“We confronted him with it, of course, I have to protect Louis’ interests after all. We can’t afford to do business with someone like him,” Anne stated. Jeany nodded.

“We convinced him to resign from the business partnership with Louis.”

“That’s good.”

“Yes, but Louis only knows that Nicollier has resigned. That made him so angry that we had to leave in a hurry. And that’s how we ended up in Grasse,” Anne finished her tale.

“But why Grasse of all places? It’s not exactly a metropolis, I can’t really see Louis here.”

“I have no idea. I was very surprised myself. Today we visited a perfume distillery. Apparently, he has plans with it. The director of the plant was at the banquet tonight, too.”

“It all sounds very mysterious. Well, if you need me for anything, I’ll help,” Jeany offered.

“That’s nice of you, but you should get settled in first and enjoy your vacation. You worked hard enough the past few weeks. At least that’s what Athos said.”

“Oh, did he talk about me?”

“Yes, I asked about you and he could hardly stop talking. He really likes you.”

Jeany smiled dreamily. They were together and she was happy with him, but it was nice to hear that he spoke so much about her that others noticed.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Constance moved slightly to check what time it was. Through an opening in the curtains she could see a glimpse of the sun rising over the horizon. Good, then she could stay in bed for a little longer. An arm, that was firmly wrapped around her, pulled her back against the body of the man beside her in the bed. “Lie back, it’s far too early yet,” D’Artagnan grumbled.

“I know, I just wanted to check what time it is,” Constance said, snuggling back against D’Artagnan, but she didn’t go back to sleep.

“There’s enough time. Go back to sleep for a while.” D’Artagnan relished the opportunity to stay in bed with her for a little longer. Usually they both had to get up early, because of appointments or assignments, so they didn’t have much time together. Although they were officially together now, Treville couldn’t make any exceptions in his case, and D’Artagnan didn’t want him to, either. Still, he often missed Constance and looked forward to the moments they could spend together. Gently, he stroked his thumb up and down her shoulder and placed a kiss on the top of her head. Constance snuggled even closer, if that was at all possible.

“I still have to think about those poor workers at the plant,” Constance said. It helped her to talk about such things with D’Artagnan. He didn’t always have to reply or offer advice. No, just telling him her concerns and sharing her thoughts with him were often enough. At first, he hadn’t understood and had always tried to find a solution for her, but eventually he understood, that Constance was capable of finding her own solutions, she just needed him by her side.

“I know, Porthos felt the same,” he mumbled, still half asleep.

Constance sat up, wriggling out of his grasp. The sudden movement made him open his eyes.

“What do you mean? Porthos?”

D’Artagnan thought for a moment. It wasn’t really his place to tell her this, since it was something between Porthos and his friends, but he could trust Constance and knew that she could keep a secret.

“Porthos isn’t from Paris originally. He came here as a young boy with his parents. He can hardly remember and sometimes he says, he’s glad about that. When they fled, he lost a lot of relatives. And even once they had reached Paris, he had a hard time of it, alone with his mother in a foreign country. Only when he became a soldier, did he feel a sense of belonging. That’s why this life, this job, is so important to him.”

Constance nodded and snuggled back against D’Artagnan, who had closed his eyes again. Now she understood Porthos a little better, even though she had a hard time picturing Porthos as a young, frightened refugee. He always seemed so solid and self-assured.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Later that morning, D’Artagnan, Aramis, Porthos and Athos met in Porthos’ room to go over the things they had found in Feron’s secret office. Apparently, D’Artagnan and Athos hadn’t gotten very much sleep last night, as evidenced by the dark circles under their eyes, and the occasional yawn. Aramis and Porthos grinned. They were happy for Athos, that Jeany had been able to join them.

In front of them, Aramis, Porthos and Athos had the printouts of the scanned documents they had found in Feron’s office. Last night, Nathan had transferred the files he had found on Feron’s computer onto a thumb drive, which D’Artagnan was currently going through. They had decided not to involve Treville yet. Once they knew exactly what they had found, they would inform him and then he could act upon their results. He wouldn’t be of much help with what they were doing right now. And they understood that the captain had more than enough to do with ensuring Louis’ safety. Athos was just glad, that Treville seemed to be back to his old self.

For a while, the only sounds to be heard where the shuffling of papers and the occasional loud yawns, but after an hour, Aramis gave up. “We’ll never get this done alone. Neither you nor I know exactly what we’re looking at here. I think we should let the experts take a look.”

“No, this is our job, we shouldn’t involve anyone else,” Athos decided.

“Aren’t Anne and Constance already involved anyway?” Porthos remarked. “So, what difference would it make if we ask them?”

Athos couldn’t say anything against that argument, so he just nodded resignedly.

Aramis immediately got up and left in search of Anne and Constance. At this time of the day, they probably relaxed in the garden.

Meanwhile, Porthos and D’Artagnan decided to grill Athos. “So…looks like you had a late night.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Athos said, feigning innocence.

“Well, the way you’ve been yawning…” Porthos suggested.

“Maybe….”

“Man, don’t make us drag every word out of you!” D’Artagnan said, but, ever the gentleman, Athos didn’t say anything more, just smiled softly to himself.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The evening before

Before he headed up to his room, Athos had learned from Aramis that Jeany had arrived. He had snarled at Aramis for not telling him right away, and then headed straight for Jeany’s room. He had hurried back to the house so quickly, that Aramis hadn’t even had time to defend himself.

Athos nodded at the door and heard a rumbling sound from within. Seconds later, the door was opened and before he could really see her, he had already tightly wrapped his arms around her.

“Hey,” Jeany breathed, completely overwhelmed by his greeting. He just buried his face against her neck and breathed in her wonderful scent. How much he had missed this. He pushed her away a little, only to passionately kiss her. At first, Jeany was surprised by the intensity of the kiss, but that’s what their relationship was like, full of love and passion, which kept her heart beating faster time and time again. During the kiss, Athos steered her closer and closer to the bed.

“I missed you,” he whispered, moving from her lips only to pepper her neck with kisses instead.

“I missed you too, that’s why I packed my bags and followed you,” she said, noticing how breathless her voice was sounding already.

“You took your time,” Athos growled, pulling the t-shirt up and over her head.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Present

Aramis returned with Anne and Constance.

“You need our help?” Constance asked around, winking at D’Artagnan, who just stuck his tongue out at her.

“Yes, definitely, thanks. We have all the documents from Feron’s office, but we can’t make heads or tails of them,” Porthos explained, pointing to the printouts. Anne and Constance immediately started going through them, in a much more organized and structured manner than the men earlier.

Every now and then they explained a point or two, and Aramis especially listened attentively. As for Porthos, it was all Greek to him. His area of expertise was finding strategies to fight against enemies, not stocks and bank statements.

At some point, Constance voiced a theory. “I think Feron periodically transferred money to Guise, but so far I can’t say how much or what for.”

Anne nodded. She had found something similar in her documents.

“Okay, for now, we’ll highlight anything that seems strange or that doesn’t fit.” Anne handed everyone a text marker and they went back to work.

Around lunchtime, Jeany came into the room. Athos immediately looked up.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt you. Can I help you with anything?” Jeany asked.

Anne threw her papers back onto the table. “No, I think we’re beyond help. Looks like it will be more difficult than I thought to go through all the documents and make sense of them. Maybe we should take a break.”

“Good idea, we could all use a little time to clear our heads,” Constance agreed with Anne’s suggestion.

“We could go take a look at the town,” D’Artagnan suggested, putting the laptop he had been working on aside. He hadn’t had very much luck with the computer files either and that frustrated him.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Half an hour later the small group met in front of the hotel, where the cars were already waiting for them. Jeany wore a black tank top, with an asymmetrical high low, cream colored skirt, black platform sandals and a few pieces of jewelry. Athos was in black jeans, with a grey t-shirt, base cap and sneakers.

Due to the warm weather, Constance had chosen a thin A-line maxi dress in cream, with brown toe sandals and a matching brown bag. D’Artagnan wore

Anne wore a patterned black crop-top with a pistachio-colored tulle maxi-skirt and pointed ballerinas. Her clutch matched the color of the skirt, while the other accessories were in gold. D’Artagnan wore light brown Bermuda shorts, a white t-shirt, a light brown base cap and black Converse sneakers.

First, they went to the old part of Grasse. The town wasn’t very big, but they enjoyed the quiet they had all missed in Nice and Monte Carlo. The small town was picturesque and the small streets gave it a quaint, romantic flair. The houses were all built of the same light brown stone, giving the town a homogeneous look. The church was not only the highest building in town, it had also been erected on the highest point of the town.

The hotel receptionist had organized a tour guide for them, who could show them all the important hot spots of the town and tell them something about its history. Afterwards, they were taken to the gardens, the Jardins de la Princesse Pauline. The midday sun was perfect for enjoying the gardens and a leisurely stroll beneath the trees. Anne and Constance took a couple of photos of features they wanted to implement in the gardens of Chateau Fontainebleau.

After an hour, the weather proved too hot for the men. The ladies relented and they all went back into the town, where they had a late lunch in a restaurant named “Rendez-Vous” at the Place aux Aires. Locals and tourists alike were having lunch in the numerous restaurants situated around the place. After lunch, they visited Notre Dame de Puy, an impressive gothic church, with a long nave and, unlike the chapels in Fontainebleau, walls of rough, unrendered stone.

In the evening, they just had to visit the Jasmine Festival. As the name suggested it was a festival in honor of the jasmine blossoms, which were highly valued as an important part of many perfumes. The highlight of the festival was a large parade through the inner city, which the seven didn’t want to miss. Once they had taken their places behind the barricades, they were impressed. The parade could hold its own with the ones in Rio de Janeiro. There were different floats, all lavishly decorated with a variety of beautiful flowers. Interspersed between the floats were musical groups playing their songs. The largest float contained the “Miss Perfume” as well as two runners-up, all waving at the cheering crowds.

Once the parade was over, the streets were cleared for traffic again and the visitors congregated around small stalls for snacks and alcoholic beverages. Anne and Constance wanted to stay a little longer, even if that meant D’Artagnan, Aramis and Porthos had to be on constant alert. Big events like this were very difficult as far as the security of their principals was concerned. The group was clustered around one of the bar tables. Anne and Constance had gotten champagne with jasmine flowers and were sipping with pleasure. “Look, over there, isn’t that one of the workers from the distillery?” Constance unobtrusively pointed out a man not far from their table.

Anne nodded. “Come, let’s say hello.”

Constance was a little surprised, but followed Anne. Her friend probably had a good reason.

“Bonsoir, Monsieur. I don’t think we’ve been introduced. We visited your distillery yesterday,” Anne greeted the man. At first he was surprised that a stranger, and a beautiful woman at that, had greeted him, but once she mentioned the distillery, he shrunk back and lowered his eyes to the floor. Now Constance tried her luck. “Are you using jasmine flowers in the distillery?” she asked. At first the man remained silent, but when Athos and Aramis joined them and blocked his exit, he realized that he had to talk to the ladies. “No, Madame, I don’t know. I’m just a simple worker.”

“You’re working daily with the finest substances and ingredients, so you probably inhaled the scent at some point,” Constance continued.

“We’re not supposed to breathe in the scents. We have a protection for our nose to prevent that.”

Anne and Constance found it alarming that the workers were only able to breathe through the mouse under their already difficult working conditions.

Anne tried a different approach. “Are you originally from Grasse?”

The man just shook his head, but did not say anything.

“Do you live here now?” Jeany asked, joining the conversation.

“Yes, back there. It’s a small house for the Fragonard workers,” the man said, pointing into the distance.

“Then we’ll accompany you there,” Anne said. The man looked up in alarm, looking her in the face for the first time. “No, Madame, you mustn’t. It’s not tidy.”

“Well, don’t worry, our rooms are often untidy as well,” Constance said, trying to reassure the man.

“No, you don’t understand. We’re four people in a room, we have very little space for ourselves and we have to share the bathroom. And since we often work late, we don’t have time to clean. It would be embarrassing for us, if you were to see that.”

“Did you talk to your director about that? Maybe he can provide a domestic help, if you often have to work overtime,” D’Artagnan suggested. The man once again silently shook his head, then he squeezed between Athos and Aramis and ran away.

“What was that all about?” Constance asked. Anne looked at the fleeing man questioningly. “I think there’s more wrong there than we originally thought,” D’Artagnan said.

“If Louis wants to do business with him, we should make sure that the work and housing conditions are safe and good,” Anne decided.

“Then we’ll take care of that,” Porthos said, earning himself a critical look from Athos. They weren’t supposed to interfere, but he didn’t say anything.

“Thank you, Porthos. Constance, we should talk to Soulier, maybe he can provide more information.”

Constance nodded. The small group left the town and returned to the Hotel.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Michele Guise stood in his father’s office. Guise senior was currently away on business and had offered his son the use of his office for that time. Michele had called together his father’s best employees and was giving them instructions. “I want to know about Aramis. What information has been collected so far? I want the report on my desk by the end of the meeting,” he ordered. As far as harshness and relentlessness were concerned, he was a chip off the old block. Word among the employees had it that, if possible, the son was even worse than the father.

Michele was respected by the employees as well as the servants of his father, when it came to business matters. Immediately, the assembled people started rummaging in their briefcases for the requested reports. Michele continued. “I want Louis reigned in again. I don’t care how. Involve Soulier and Mourlon if necessary. Louis and his entourage have to come back to Nice, where we have them under control and can influence the flow of information.”

Most of the people present nodded. “I want to see Feron still today, make it happen. He has to reign in his brother or we’ll terminate any and all business with him. That’s all.”

With the meeting adjourned, the assembled people left, leaving the requested report behind. Michele took a seat hat his father’s desk and went through the file and the collected photos. “Interesting, Aramis. So you have a lady friend, that Anne. Let’s dig a little deeper, shall we?” he murmured to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to DebbieF, Sigmund and LadyNeve for the comment. So appreciated. Really !!


	17. Disdain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things getting serious here…. After the Book Convention I’m uploading chapter 17. Hope you like it. Also pictures of location and outfits :  
> [barracks](https://pin.it/s3gyskipqy7hxc)  
> [Jeany Outfit](https://pin.it/me54jqhoej4b5s)  
> [Milady Outfit](https://pin.it/q7dyrkiohutuva)

Around lunchtime the next day, Anne and Constance wanted to meet with Soulier. Aramis and D’Artagnan would accompany them. When Constance had organized the appointment over the phone, Soulier had suggested a café in town and the ladies had agreed, so, at the appointed time, they all met at the café.

“Ah, Madame Anne, how nice that it has worked out. I’m glad that we can meet.”

Soulier shook hands first with Anne, then with Constance. Then he noticed that the two women had not come alone. “I hope you don’t feel threatened?” he said, with a cautious look at Anne. Anne gave Soulier a slightly confused look. Then she noticed that Aramis had taken a threatening stance behind her. Usually, Aramis left that job to Athos and Porthos, but for Anne he would make an exception.

“Oh, no, that’s just a security measure. Anne is not supposed to go out without bodyguards,” Constance explained. Soulier raised his eyebrows, but did not say anything. He motioned towards a table and the two women sat down.

“Madame, you wanted to speak with me? Where is your esteemed cousin?”

“The matter we would like to discuss with you involves Louis only peripherally, so he does not need to be present for this meeting. He is a very busy man after all.”

Soulier nodded, but he did not really like the way Anne wanted to do this. To him, she seemed to be the more difficult person to deal with.

“Do you happen to know a Monsieur Delcroix?”

“Ah, Monsieur Delcroix, the CEO of the Fragonard perfumery. Of course, he’s a good friend and also an important business partner,” Soulier said.

“Well, we have seen some of that business,” Constance said, sounding less than pleased.

“You visited the distillery, how nice. I already heard that we will be working closer together now.” Soulier signaled to the waiter to order some celebratory champagne, but Anne stopped him. “I think we need to reconsider this cooperation very carefully.”

Soulier stopped in mid-wave. “Pardon?”

“We visited the plant and found the conditions there not exactly favorable,” Constance tried to explain.

“I’m not sure I understand, Mesdames. The plant is state-of-the-art, with only the most modern equipment. Which conditions are you talking about?”

“We were less concerned with the production side and more with the working conditions for your employees,” Anne said. It was clear to see, how much what she had seen affected her.

“You are a businesswoman yourself, you know how it is. First, we have to increase production to generate more profit, before we can improve the working conditions,” Soulier explained, contentedly.

“And what do you say to the living quarters? Or should we say baracks? They have nothing to do with cost-effectiveness, these conditions have to change,” Anne said decisively. She leaned back in her chair, too, crossed her arms and gave Soulier a stern look. D’Artagnan and Aramis were very proud of their ladies. They knew that there was another side to the two women, but until now they had not really had an opportunity to observe them in such business discussions.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Together with the bodyguards, Anne and Constance visited the living quarters of the distillery workers, so that they could form their own opinion. The houses stood a little outside of Grasse, and the closer the group got to them, the more it became apparent why. The houses looked like a public housing project of the fifties. A row of four buildings, each with three floors. The plaster on the outside walls was crumbling, the railings on the upper floors were more for show than actually providing protection. The small strip of green in front of the house was seriously neglected and the trees looked withered. The wooden window frames seemed brittle, almost decayed in places.

Anne and Constance were more than appalled and the men felt the same. On their way to the first of the buildings, they recognized some of the workers from the distillery and approached them. “Bonjour, Monsieur. We’ve come to take a look at your housing situation,” Constance greeted the man pleasantly. The man reacted instantly, unable to resist her charme. “Mesdames, are you the new shareholders?”

Anne was a little confused, but tried not to let it show. Apparently, that was the excuse the director had come up with. “We’re not sure yet, but we are very interested in providing good conditions for the employees in all our other companies, and it is important for us to speak with every link in the chain.”

The man nodded. “Well, then take a look around. I can give you a guided tour, if you want,” he offered.

“Oh yes, that would be very good. If you have to time,” Constance said.

The man nodded and preceded them into the house. He greeted a couple of men standing at the entrance. They eyed the strangers suspiciously, especially the men, but let them enter without a word.

“You know, Madame, we have some sick people here,” the man explained as they were walking along the corridors.

“We already heard about that. Aren’t they under medical care?”

The man shook his head. “The doctor here is very bad, and we didn’t get the necessary medicines.”

Anne just nodded, giving Constance a meaningful look.

The man showed them some of the apartments as well. Like the man at the Jasmine Festival had already said, they didn’t look very good, furnished only with a few cots. The small rooms were made even smaller by a couple of shelves for the workers to stow their belongings. However, there wasn’t enough space, so that some of the things had been placed as neatly as possible on the floor. The whole set-up did not leave a good impression. The kitchen was more or less non-existant, consisting only of one or two hot plates and a large cupboard, and that for six people. How on Earth was anyone supposed to cook a decent meal here, Constance thought.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“As you can see, we have a clear picture of the situation,” Anne stated.

The coffee they had ordered in place of the celebratory champagne, was being served, and Soulier tried to buy some time by slowly adding milk and sugar and stirring, before he answered. “The living conditions are not really my area of responsibility, you’ll have to speak to Decroix about that. But I think there might be some room for negotiation there,” he said. A less than satisfactory answer for Anne and Constance. Aramis had enough and stepped closer behind Anne. Soulier noticed him immediately and moved slightly back in his chair. He didn’t want to get on Aramis’ bad side.

“Madame, I think, we said enough about this matter. If there’s nothing else you want to discuss with me, please excuse me, I have other important appointments.” Soulier stood up and left before anyone could object. On the way out, he glanced back at Aramis and D’Artagnan.

“What was that all about?” Constance asked, more than angry with Soulier’s behavior. How could he just leave them like that?

“We could bring him back,” D’Artagnan suggested.

“No, let him go, we already have our answer,” Anne said, drinking the rest of her coffee.

“We do?” Aramis had no idea what they had managed to accomplish. Other than warning Soulier, that was.

“He knows much more than he admits, and he’s in far deeper than he feels comfortable with at the moment. We need to keep an eye on him. Delcroix is just a means to an end,” Anne explained, looking directly at D’Artagnan and Aramis. D’Artagnan nodded and called Porthos and Athos. The two men had waited in reserve two streets over and arrived at the café within a few minutes.

“We need to follow Soulier.” Athos nodded. He and Porthos had overheard the whole discussion. Porthos was about to leave again right away, but Aramis stopped him. “We’ll do that, you take the ladies back to the hotel,” he said, nodding to Athos and Porthos, before he left with D’Artagnan.

It was better to keep Porthos out of this. With his past, he was much too emotionally involved and that was not a good idea.

Deep down, Porthos understood that himself and simply followed the order.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Vincent was still following Grimaud. It had taken him a long time to find the man, since he had only managed to do it by tracking the video cameras, like Nathan had showed him. Trying to locate Grimaud’s cellphone had not worked and Vincent had been getting pretty desperate. It was important assignment and he had to make a good job of it, if he wanted to climb the next rung on the career ladder.

Grimaud had just arrived in front of a villa. Vincent parked in a side street, from where he had a good view of the front entrance of the property, so he would see when Grimaud left again. Apparently Grimaud was going to stay a while. That gave Vincent the chance to check, who the villa belonged to. He was surprised to find out that the owner was Guise, one of the men who had been at Feron’s party. He noted everything down for his later report to Porthos and then activated the microphone he had managed to unobtrusively attach to Grimaud’s jacket earlier.

“Well, what have you got for me today,” an unknown voice, which Vincent thought belonged to Guise, said.

“Feron wants to meet with Mourlon, and he has also met with some business partners in Paris, with which Anne has terminated business relations,” Grimaud reported. Vincent wondered how Grimaud could know. This was confidential information, only intended for Louis’ employees. Grimaud continued, but a sudden interference in the transmission made it impossible for Vincent to follow the rest of the conversation. All he could hear was static noise and a few snatches of words. Anne’s name was mentioned a couple of times. Vincent noted everything he could hear and understand, maybe it would be of some help anyway.

After approximately two hours, Grimaud left the house and drove to Feron’s villa, where he stayed for the rest of the day. Vincent could only stay, watch the villa and listen in on Grimaud. Unfortunately, the man only drank a lot and played Poker with some of the household staff, that was as interesting as it got. This gave Vincent the time to try to put together the fragments of the conversation between Grimaud and Guise, but without success.

*******************************************

Jeany spent the morning on her own, since she had not wanted to join Anne and Constance for the meeting. She preferred to stay at the hotel and enjoy the peace and quiet. The last few days at the gallery had been very busy, giving her hardly any time to take a breath. For today, she had decided on a pair of jeans shorts, a dark blue top and blue wedges, together with a light brown sun hat and matching aviator glasses. Since she was going to the pool, she wore a blue and white bikini underneath her clothes.

She went outside into the garden. An unknown woman was already relaxing beside the pool. Probably Louis lady friend, Jeany supposed. She wanted to make a good impression, since she was only a guest her. “Good morning. I’m Jeany, and you must be Louis’ girlfriend,” Jeany introduced herself.

Milady looked over the top of her sunglasses at the slender woman in front of her. “People call me Milady. And now, please step aside, you’re blocking my sun and I need to work on my tan,” she said, impatiently waving Jeany away with her hand.

Jeany considered her behavior rather rude and simply left. She chose a deck chair as far away from the woman as possible and took her e-book reader from her bag. She couldn’t help herself and took another glance at Milady. The woman was slender and not really tall, maybe her own height, and had brown locks, most of which were hidden under a hat. She wore a white bathing suit with a deep neckline and a green pareo. One of the hotel staff came out of the house. “Monsieur!” Milady immediately waved him over. “Has my husband already arrived?”

“You mean Monsieur Louis? No, he wanted to play a round of golf. 18 holes, I think I heard.”

The man was just about to turn away again, but Milady stopped him. “No, Louis is not my husband. I meant Athos.”

Jeany almost dropped her reader in shock. Athos? Her husband? Had she missed something?

“No, Madame, he left earlier,” the man said and went on his way again.

Milady turned to Jeany and took off her sunglasses. “Yes, my dear, you heard correctly. Athos is my husband. Everything else is just a distraction.” She turned back to her fashion magazine.

Jeany, who felt more betrayed by the minute, blinked away some tears, packed her bag again and hurried back into the house. Milady allowed herself a smile, when she heard a door slam.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Porthos and Athos took the two ladies home. Anne and Constance had put the open laptop on the seat between them and were discussing possible ways to help the distillery workers. Athos drove, sneaking a glance at Porthos every now and then, who was staring straight ahead through the windshield, his face still tense. “We’ll do our very best to help. You see, Anne and Constance will take care of it.” Porthos just nodded, but Athos knew that all the words and promises didn’t come to much. Porthos wanted to help those people, but his possibilities were limited. Athos tried another approach. “Some half-cocked action will help nobody. We have to do this calmly and methodically.”

They drove up the hotel driveway and Porthos was looking for something to distract himself. “How are you going to handle the situation with Jeany and Milady?” he asked Athos directly. Yesterday, when they had met Jeany, the question had hung in the air, at least among the four friends. They all knew about Athos’ and Milady’s past, but they also liked Jeany and wanted to spare her unnecessary heartbreak. They knew that Athos was a man of honor and was not just toying with Jeany, but Milady was a whole different kettle of fish. Athos didn’t say anything, since he had no idea himself. The appearance of his ex-wife had made matters much more complicated.

At the hotel, they all went back to their rooms. Anne and Constance wanted to get a little rest before dinner, and Porthos and Athos were assigned to guard duty for tonight and wanted to conserve their energy.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After a refreshing shower, Porthos took his cell phone and pressed re-dial.

<Yes?>

“Bonjour, Elodie. How are you? Is the little one sleeping?”

<Porthos, how nice to hear your voice. Yes, she just fell asleep, finally. But what about you? You sound so sad.> It was impressive how well she already knew him.

“We’ve been to that plant and we saw the workers’ homes. Anne and Constance wanted to take a look at the living conditions. And as I already mentioned, they’re more than catastrophic. Today, the ladies met with the man who provides the work permits for these people and confronted him with the information. The man just regarded it from an economic point of view. A cost factor, nothing more.”

Elodie knew what the matter was. <Porthos, you can’t save everybody.>

“No, but I can’t just close my eyes against something like this. I know myself how hard it can be. How impossible it seems to get out of a situation like that. I used to be in the same position.”

<And yet you made it. I’m sure, if you ask Anne, she will help you in any way she can to improve the conditions for those people. You just have to ask for her help.>

“You’re probably right. I was just so furious with Soulier.”

<Who?>

“He’s the man who brings those people here and sees to the work permits.”

<I see. But I think the others felt the same way you did. >

“Probably. This thing just hits too close to home. Anne and Constance have put their heads together right after the meeting to try and find a solution, but it’s just all going far too slow.” Porthos was silent for quite some time and Elodie didn’t speak either.

“Do you have a name for her by now?” he asked after a while.

<No, I have a few ideas, but none of them really fit her.>

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Athos looked out of his window at the pool. This morning Jeany had said that she wanted to catch some sun and read a book, but he didn’t see her down there. Only Milady was lying on a deck chair, flipping through a magazine. “Maybe Jeany decided to put her feet up for a while and returned to her room,” Athos murmured to himself.

He went to Jeany’s room and knocked briefly, before he tried the door handle. The door was unlocked, so he stepped into the room….and immediately had to duck. Jeany had heard him come in and was haphazardly throwing clothes at him.

“You idiot! You liar! How could I fall for someone like you? How could you do that to me?” she yelled, throwing everything within her reach at him.

Athos easily evaded her missiles and approached her. When he was close enough, he grabbed her hand. “What is wrong?” he asked, keeping his voice calm. His grip on her hands was firm, but not aggressive. Jeany tried to wrest herself free, but failed. Recognizing the futility of her action, she slumped and started to cry. Athos was completely confused. What had happened in the last few hours? “Jeany, please talk to me,” he pleaded, carefully releasing her hands, but still on alert in case she started throwing things at him again.

“You’re married. You have another woman. Correction, you have a wife and I’m the other woman,” she said, slowly sinking to the floor.

Athos immediately knelt down beside her, but didn’t put his arms around her, much as he wanted to. He hated to see her cry because of him. “What do you mean, I’m married. Who told you that? There is only you,” he tried to explain.

“Oh, so Milady isn’t your wife?” Jeany asked, waspishly.

Now he understood. Milady. Of course. So what he had most wanted to avoid had happened. He glanced at the bed, where a half-filled suitcase lay. Had she not finished unpacking it yet, or was she re-packing it? For better or worse, he had to tell Jeany everything, or she would leave him. The suitcase on the bed made that abundantly clear.

“I was married, to Milady, but that was a long time ago. We’re no longer together and we’re officially divorced, so she’s my ex-wife,” Athos explained in a low voice, sitting down on the floor beside Jeany and leaning back against the foot of the bed.

Jeany looked directly at him now. “And why have you never told me about that?” she asked.

“Somehow it never came up. And how do you talk about something like that. We did not split up on good terms and I’m glad that it is over. I don’t like to think of the past, only of the future, and I know that the future is you,” he said. With that last sentence, he reached for her hands again and pulled them to his mouth.

**********************************

Aramis and D’Artagnan followed Soulier to a different café, where he met with Delcroix. The man greeted Soulier eagerly, but Soulier brushed him off. Aramis took photos with a telephoto lens. “We need a microphone.”

D’Artagnan rummaged around in one of the bags on the back seat, found a small directional microphone and held it out to Aramis.

“Very good, and how are we supposed to place it where we need it, newbie?”

“I haven’t been a newbie for the longest time, and I already have an idea,” D’Artagnan answered. He got out of the car and went over to the boys playing something on the other side of the street. He handed the microphone to one of the boys and returned to the car.

“What was that all about?” Aramis asked. “You’ll see,” D’Artagnan answered, turning his attention back to Soulier and Delcroix.

The boy D’Artagnan had spoken to went into the café and unobtrusively left the microphone on a table close to the two men. It was so small that it could be mistaken for a black spot on the table cloth. If you didn’t know that it was there, it wouldn’t even be noticed. Now Aramis and D’Artagnan could listen in on the conversation.

“I’ve been caught out. We need to do something about the housing situation and the working conditions or the deal will fall through. That Anne digs far too deep and one of my spies at the housing project told me, that they have already been there to see for themselves.”

“We can’t improve anything, it would be our ruin,” Delcroix answered. “We have to keep everything as it is and hope for Louis’ investment, then we take the money.”

“I know, that was the plan, but we can forget about that now. We have to fight together now. That’s the only way we still have a chance for that money,” Soulier tried to convince him.

“And just how do you think this will work?”

“We’ll promise Anne everything she wants and improve the conditions for a short while. I don’t know, send them on vacation, shorten the shifts…..”

“Shorten the shifts? Do you have any idea, how much profit that would cost us?”

“Just for their stay here und until Louis has signed the contract.”

“Why do we care about that Anne in the first place, if Louis is the one signing the contract in the end?”

“Anne is Louis’ closest advisor. If she says no, he’s bound to listen to her,” Soulier said.

D’Artagnan and Aramis had heard enough. They saved the recording of the conversation, packed up the camera, laptop and headphones and left as unobtrusively as they had come. They definitely needed to report this, so they went straight back to the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to LadyNeve, Sigmund and DebbieF for their regular comments. That is why im writing so much. Keeps one going :D


	18. The call of the sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, the story goes on.   
> Here are the outfits :   
> [Anne](https://pin.it/564dwy2evq4mmk)  
> [Constance](https://pin.it/by5qcu45hadlwu)  
> [Milady](https://pin.it/tsg6pfqxhwwfxv)  
> [Jeany](https://pin.it/svctsrnnnb6grh)  
> [Aramis](https://pin.it/oifi5mtt2jh2he)  
> [Athos](https://pin.it/xecbrmfjyo7xws)  
> [D'artagnan](https://pin.it/4ge3ft22xb2zoh)  
> pictures of the hotel:   
> [Front Side Hotel](https://www.pinterest.de/pin/169166529738874869/)  
> [Back side Hotel](https://pin.it/y5rcpb4i2c2b3g)  
> [Annes room](https://pin.it/qxnmnlsymy5t5u)  
> [Yacht](https://pin.it/qxnmnlsymy5t5u)

After the exciting day, Anne and Constance sat in the garden. They were both too keyed up to sleep yet, so they thought a glass of wine and the beautiful surroundings of the garden might help.

“What should we do, Constance? We have to help these people.” Anne watched the sinking sun, at a loss how to resolve the situation. She desperately wanted to help. Constance wasn’t surprised. Even in Madrid, Anne had been active in several social help projects, helping out in a soup kitchen several times a week, and she had been a reliable contact person for the charity flea market.

“We have to get to the root cause. Why does Louis want to join in this venture? Has your company been interested in that sector before or does he have a personal interest?” Constance tried to approach the problem from the theoretical side. While Anne thought about this, Constance nipped at her wine. She had chosen a red wine, made from local grapes. Before Anne could answer, Milady joined them without being invited. “Is it possible to get something to drink around here?” she asked, more to herself than to the other two women, and looked around.

“If you were a little nicer, one of the waiters would come over and take your order,” Constance said, her tone making it clear what she thought of the older woman’s presence.

“Well, someone is bound to come,” Milady said, ignoring Constance’s comment. “I overheard something…”

“You mean, you eavesdropped on us,” Constance interrupted her.

“No, a lady does not eavesdrop. I just happen to notice in passing that you mentioned the perfume distillery and I became interested.”

Constance merely shook her head, taking another sip of wine.

“So, do you want to know what I know or are we going to keep arguing?” Milady asked. She was getting fed up. After all, she was offering her help – even if it wasn’t altogether unselfish.

Constance leaned back in her chair, indicating that she intended to stay out of it.

“Please, continue,” Anne tried once more to remain polite. Maybe the woman could be useful.

“The distillery and the investment was Feron’s idea. He convinced Louis and that’s why we left Monte Carlo and went to this out-of-the-way town.” Milady explained, looking around again. Where was that blasted waiter?

“It was Feron’s idea?”

Milady nodded, but didn’t continue. Constance understood the hint and motioned one of the waiters over, who had congregated in a corner. From where she sat, Milady hadn’t seen them, but Anne and Constance could.

“Please bring Milady a glass of this excellent wine,” Anne politely told the waiter. The man nodded and left to fill the order.

Once Milady had her glass in front of her, she continued. “Feron had to do some convincing. Louis didn’t really see a profit in this venture. He wasn’t convinced he’d get a return on his investment. Feron spoke with Louis at length, he also wanted us to go back to Nice. Everything would be better than this small town. But back to the point. Louis wanted to see for himself, that’s the reason for the move here and for the visit to the distillery.”

Anne and Constance were surprised. This put the whole matter into a different light. “And why are you telling us all this?” Anne asked, suspicious. There had to be a catch.

“I just want to leave here. It’s so dreary and there isn’t even a beach. I mean, we’re in the countryside. Even Fontainebleau is bigger than this town,” Milady said.

“That still doesn’t explain why you decided to join us,” Constance insisted.

“You seem to want to do something against this project, I just want to help.”

“Yes, but for a different reason,” Constance stated.

“Our goal is the same, do the reasons really matter?” Milady asked. A pertinent question, so Anne tried a different approach.

“How did you happen to get this information?” She had to make sure that Milady wasn’t trying to trick them.

“In Monte Carlo I overheard a phone call between Louis and Feron, and we left immediately afterwards.”

“Yes, but it’s not like Feron. With this project he wouldn’t only harm us, but he would be affected as well, since he’s working for the same company.” Constance could see no connection or benefit for Feron.

“Feron didn’t sound very convinced himself. It was more like someone forced him to get Louis to act on this. It seemed very strange to me.” Milady rolled her eyes at Constance’s raised eyebrows. “Louis had the phone on speaker, so I could hear both sides of the conversation.”

Anne wanted to add something, but Milady got up and emptied her wine glass in one gulp.

Not exactly ladylike, Constance thought but refrained from saying something.

“I think I helped you enough,” Milady said, leaving as quickly, and as rudely, as she had appeared. Anne watched her leave.

“If Louis had to be convinced to join in this project, it should also be possible to convince him not to do it,” Anne said.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

That same evening, Anne and Constance organized another trip to the workers’ houses, but this time Louis would come with them. They met the next morning. Louis wasn’t exactly thrilled to be visiting a social housing project for factory workers, but for Anne’s sake he had agreed. He didn’t really see the necessity, but he knew that Anne wouldn’t waste his time needlessly. At least he hoped so. The drive took only a couple of minutes. What Louis saw, shocked him almost as much as it had shocked Anne and Constance the first time. Anne fetched one of the workers, who was able to speak French.

“Monsieur, could you please tell my cousin here something about your housing situation? Only if you want to, of course,” she asked him. The man spoke openly about the conditions the workers were living under and Louis lost more and more color. The man invited Louis and the others into his apartment, but when Louis looked through the front door and realized just how cramped the space was, he declined, saying that he couldn’t expect it.

He was disgusted. How could anyone make his workers live like that? As a business man himself, he always looked to profits and costs, with an eye to keeping costs as low as possible, but he didn’t want any of his employees to suffer. Contented employees were loyal employees, his father had always told him, and Louis had stuck with that. Until now. Anne was glad of the effect these impressions had on Louis. Hopefully he would now realize, which situation this business proposal could have landed him in.

After the helpful worker had finished his tour and Louis had met some other people who had to live there, the group was back at the cars. Louis had to act. He was absolutely furious, but Anne wasn’t sure with whom. Himself, her, God, the whole situation? Louis’ next words made it clear.

“How could he do that? Didn’t he know about this? Feron, my own brother.”

So Milady was right, which surprised not only Anne, but Constance as well, but it didn’t really change their impression of the woman.

After Louis had recovered from the “betrayal”, as he called it, he turned to Treville, who, of course, hadn’t left his side. “Summon Soulier and Delcroix immediately,” he ordered curtly and got into the car. Treville sighed and took out his cell phone. Some of his men had stayed behind at the hotel, in addition to the scheduled guards, they could pick up Soulier and the director of the distillery and bring them here. However, since it wasn’t quite as easy as that, they had to wait for quite some time.

When two cars arrived, Louis got out again and stood in front of his car, straight as a lance and with his head held high. Anne stood on one side of him, Treville on the other, presenting a unified front, which had the potential to frighten the two men getting out of the new cars. Soulier had been in business for too long to be that easily impressed, but his partner, Delcroix, had a few beads of nervous sweat on his forehead. The director gulped nervously a few times, when the whole group of bodyguards positioned themselves around Louis as well. He had been promised there wouldn’t be any problems.

“Louis, what are we doing here?” Soulier asked, spreading his arms to encompass everything. Instead of Louis, Anne began to speak. “The living conditions of the workers do not meet our usual standard. Louis wanted to see for himself.”

“Well, I can see that, but what do you need us for? I was summoned away from breakfast, do I deserve to be treated this way?” Soulier asked provocatively. Delcroix kept in the background.

“These people eat only porridge for breakfast. And they eat porridge for dinner, so don’t talk to us about proper treatment. They don’t have enough water and only cold water at that.”

To Anne’s surprise, Louis had been paying attention during the visit, he had listened to the workers’ complaints and apparently remembered them. He wanted to continue, but Delcroix, having found his courage, interrupted him. “Well, in this weather, cold water is refreshing.”

Louis gave him a stern look. “It might not be quite so refreshing in winter. And what about the food? The cramped space? The substandard sanitary facilities? They have no property, no internet, no TV.”

Soulier recognized where this was heading and tried to change direction in order to save the contract signing, which had been scheduled for the afternoon. “We can put all of these points into the contract. Your cousin, who seems to be a very dedicated lady, can act as Human Resources manager in Monsieur Delcroix’s plant. There’s always a solution.”

Constance took a step forward. Anne, a CFO, as a mere Human Resources manager? Anne held her back. Soulier just wanted to rile them up.

“There is indeed a solution. The contract between our two companies will not be signed. We will terminate any respective discussions immediately. Anne has presented a few plans earlier, how to improve the workers’ conditions.” Now Louis turned to the assembled workers, who had come out of the houses, when the two other cars had arrived, and were now within hearing. They stood at a respectful distance, now that their boss was here, but they didn’t want to miss the spectacle.

“We need good workers like you in Fontainebleau. It will not be the same kind of work as here, but we promise you a warm room and running water, as well as one warm meal and two cold meals a day, and you will be paid at least minimum wages. If you’re interested, go and see my cousin.” As far as Louis was concerned, this concluded the matter.

The workers, who had heard everything, couldn’t believe their ears. The unknown man, who had almost become an investor in the distillery, now offered them jobs with better conditions. Constance could see, that some workers’ eyes were shining with joy. She had no idea, when Anne had presented this idea to Louis, but Louis was right. Treville had had to lay off a lot of people on Louis’ orders, so they had a number of open positions to be filled. Working at the chateau was bound to be easier than at the distillery and the necessary know how wasn’t all that difficult to learn.

Louis wanted to get back into his car, when Delcroix reached for his arm. Before he could come close to even touching him, Treville had already easily intercepted the perceived attack.

“You can’t take these workers away from me. I need them. Soulier can’t provide new ones at short notice. My plant will go down!” Delcroix slowly sank to his knees, begging. Soulier rolled his eyes at this embarrassing and shameful behavior. He himself had no intention of sinking so low. He had wanted to withdraw from doing business with Delcroix for a while, now he would really have to go through with it. No sense in both of them going bankrupt.

What rankled more was the failed attempt to get Louis involved in a sticky situation. Once again, Guise’s plan had been unsuccessful. The boss would definitely hate to hear that.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Louis, who had managed to get rid of Delcroix with the help of Treville, was the first to go back to the hotel. Anne and Constance stayed back for a while to explain the new jobs to the workers and exchange contact details, since they were hoping that some of the people would already be settling in at Fontainebleau by the time they got back. When that was done, Anne and Constance went back to the hotel as well.

As soon as Louis got back, he went up to his room, where Milady was already waiting for him.

“Mon amour, where have you been so long?” she asked, playing the innocent as usual.

“I had to terminate the business talks with Delcroix and Soulier. They wanted to involve me in matters, that would have caused a lot of damage in the long run,” he explained curtly. Milady pretended to be shocked, pressing her hand over her mouth. “Damage, to my beloved? For God’s sake! I’m glad you managed to see through them.” She had been lying on the bed reading a book, now she crawled over to him. “If there will be no further talks, we can move somewhere else, can’t we?” she asked, pouting innocently.

“Don’t you like the hotel? We’re the only guests and we’re all alone in the countryside.” Louis pulled her onto his lap and started to caress her neck.

“Yes, but think of what else we could do. And we have to leave for Cannes soon anyway, so having a few more days there couldn’t hurt,” she tried to convince him, gently running her fingers up and down his back.

“Whatever you want.” Louis was once again completely entranced by her. In this condition, she could get anything from him and that’s what she liked so much about him. He wasn’t only wealthy, influential and powerful, he had also fallen completely under her spell and did anything she wanted. All she had to do was bat her eyelashes and wear lacy lingerie every now and then and the world was her oyster.

Louis had a servant inform Treville and Anne that the whole group would leave today for Cannes. Constance wasn’t fond of that decision. She liked the quiet and peaceful countryside and was reluctant to move to the city of the rich and beautiful.

Anne and Constance began packing. Treville was busy with preparations as well. The departure was very short-notice as usual, but nothing they couldn’t handle. Luckily, they had already inspected the hotel in Cannes. It had only been on the agenda for later, but they had managed to get ahead with the security checks.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Anne and Constance hadn’t quite finished packing, when Jeany joined them. “Can I help you? I didn’t have a lot to pack,” she offered.

“Oh, that’s very nice of you. Maybe you can help us, we can’t get this suitcase to close,” Anne said. Jeany came over and together they finally managed to get the suitcase closed. Afterwards, they talked for a little while, since Jeany was curious to know what had happened with Soulier and Delcroix. The plan for the new jobs was great. Jeany could use two strong helpers for her gallery storage as well and Anne promised to pass it on.

“Why were you so quick with your packing?” Constance asked. Jeany had surely learned about it later than she and Anne.

“My stuff was half packed already,” Jeany admitted.

“Why, did you want to leave again right away?” Constance was confused.

“Well, no. And yes. I had an argument with Athos. I met Milady at the pool and she told me that she is Athos’ wife, okay ex-wife.”

Anne and Constance were shocked. “His Ex-wife?”

Jeany nodded. “Yes, after that I just wanted to leave. Athos came to my room and I confronted him with it. It turned out that they haven’t been in contact for a very long time. Apparently, Milady just wanted to rile me up.”

The news came as a bombshell. Anne had already felt that there was a connection between Athos and Milady, but she hadn’t thought that they were married once. Constance was furious with Athos. How could he do something like that to Jeany? He could at least have warned her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The three ladies went their separate ways. Constance went back to her room to check if she had really packed everything. D’Artagnan was already waiting for her there.

“Well, I can see that you’re all packed. I can take your suitcases down to the lobby if you like,” he offered.

Constance ignored him. “Hello, Constance.” D’Artagnan tried again to get her attention. He was slowly getting angry. He hadn’t done anything wrong and she wasn’t usually like this. “Constance!” he said again, a little louder.

Constance turned around, startled at the volume of his voice, but she recovered quickly. “Yes, what is it, damnit?”

“’What is it?’ You ignore me, you don’t talk to me, what is going on?” he asked, more gently now, and approached her. Constance evaded him and leaned against a wall, keeping some distance between them. “What is going on? You tell me. I mean, you do tell me everything, don’t you?”

D’Artagnan recognized it as a trick question, but answered anyway. “Of course, everything I can tell you. I don’t keep any secrets from you.”

“Ah, but you kept it a secret that Athos has his ex-wife here.”

Now D’Artagnan knew which way the wind blew. “Athos doesn’t ‘have his ex-wife here’. It’s pure coincidence that the king’s new lady friend also happens to be Athos’ ex-wife,” he tried to defend his brother-in-arms. Not so easy in the face of Constance’s anger.

“Oh, pure coincidence, is it? Okay, I’ll believe you, but once all of you knew – and from your answer I know that you knew – you should have told me. You should have told me from the start. Can you imagine how Jeany felt, when she learned about Milady?”

Now D’Artagnan was getting angry. They were arguing about something that was none of Constance’s business. “It’s not my story to tell. Athos has told us confidentially. And it’s not your story to tell to Jeany. Or is her relationship with Athos more important to you than ours?”

This argument only made Constance angrier. “No, but she’s my friend.”

“Yes, and Athos is my friend,” D’Artagnan countered.

“Well, it’s all settled then,” Constance said, took her handbag and left the room. However, their argument was not at all settled and they both knew it.

The others were already waiting in front of the hotel, packing the last of the luggage. Anne was already waiting in the car, and as usual, Louis and Milady seemed to have left first.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The hotel in Cannes had to be the most impressive so far. A long driveway led up to the entrance of the Majestic Barriére. The hotel had six floors and was built in a sort of U-shape. The facade was bright white, almost shimmering in the light of the setting sun. The back side of the hotel offered a wonderful view of the sea and the pool area. In front of the entrance, bellhops were already waiting to take care of the luggage and park the cars.

Anne moved into her impressive suite. The lounge area held a couple of couches and armchairs, and a large, semicircular window offered a direct view of the sea. A swing door led into the bedroom, which was somewhat small, but still adequate for Anne. In a corner of the lounge area, a small office space had been created, with a large table and a couple of chairs.

Once again, Constance helped Anne unpack, but from the way her friend threw the clothes into the wardrobe, Anne knew that something was wrong. “Has something happened?” she asked cautiously.

“I just had an argument with D’Artagnan.”

“Oh, what about? Does he think you have too little time for him? I keep telling you to take some time for yourself.”

“No, that’s not it. It’s about the situation with Jeany, Athos and Milady. He argued that it wasn’t his job to tell me and he can’t understand why I’m so angry. Aren’t you angry? I mean, they could have told us.”

Anne saw, that Constance was getting worked up about it again. “Of course, they could have told us, but I understand D’Artagnan. I assume he was told in confidence, so it wasn’t his story to tell. After all, it’s a matter between the four of them. We’re not involved. Yes, I feel sorry for Jeany, and of course we’ll support her, but she has to deal with this on her own or at least with Athos’ help.”

“Yes, but he wouldn’t be telling ‘everybody’. I’m his girlfriend and he should have told me about it, that’s what you do in a relationship, isn’t it?” Constance had stopped helping Anne and sat dejectedly on the bed. Anne understood Constance’s point.

“I’m sure he just needs a little time to get used to the idea, so try to be patient.”

Before Constance could say anything, there was a short knock on the door and Porthos entered. “Excuse the interruption, but I’m to inform you that we’re all invited to a yacht party tonight. Apparently, Louis has received a last-minute invitation. It starts at 8 o’clock,” he said, and promptly left again.

“You know, I’m slowly getting used to Louis’ spontaneous plans,” Anne said, laughing. Constance had to laugh as well, which managed to improve her mood for a moment.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Shortly before eight, the guys were waiting in the lobby. It was clear to see that this time Athos was not the only one in a bad mood, but D’Artagnan as well.

“Trouble in paradise? Is the honeymoon over already?” Aramis teased, but D’Artagnan ignored it. Aramis glanced at Porthos, but Porthos only shrugged. He had no idea either. Athos kept out of it. He was distracted by the beauty coming down the stairs.

Jeany, who had also been informed by Porthos, had chosen a short, pale pink dress that ended a few inches above her knees. It was sleeveless and pleated, with a v-neckline. A nude-colored clutch and matching high heels with a little bow at the ankle completed the outfit. Jeany also wore a gold necklace with a heart pendant, a gift from Athos before the group had left.

Anne had also chosen a pink dress, but in a different style. Hers was a little longer and a darker pink, with short spaghetti straps. Since it had a high, straight neckline, she did not wear a necklace. The top was close fitting, with a calf-length flared skirt. Anne had combined it with a black clutch and black strappy sandals.

Constance’s dress had a simple, black sleeveless top and a flared skirt in gold, with a large bow at the left side of the waist. Her high heels were black with a gold colored sole. A black clutch and a flashy gold necklace completed her outfit. Despite their earlier argument, D’Artagnan had a hard time keeping his eyes off her. Why did things have to be so complicated?

Milady went straight over to Louis. For the party, she had chosen a black pencil skirt with pale pink high heeled pumps and a nude colored clutch. Her top was a kind of black halter bustier with artistic slashes over the ribcage and pale pink accents. More than inappropriate for a yacht party, at least in Jeany’s opinion. Her jewelry consisted of large diamond earrings.

Together, they walked to the yacht where the party was to take place. It was a large boat, with enough room for a lot of people, which was a good thing, since they did not seem to be the only guests. The yacht was moored in the harbor and brightly lit. On the various decks, guests were nipping champagne, every now and then taking hors d’oeuvres from the trays of the waiters.

“Louis, how come you received this invitation?” Anne asked.

“The host is an old school mate. I met him in the hotel lobby and he invited me. And I certainly wasn’t going to come unaccompanied,” Louis answered, heading towards the bar with Milady, presumably to greet their host.

The bodyguards tried to keep track of everybody, which wasn’t easy in such a large crowd. Fortunately, they had dressed for the occasion and were able to blend in. Athos wore a black suit with a slim fitting black dress shirt, a simple black tie and black shoes. Aramis had been a little more daring, in classy blue jeans, a blue dress shirt, a dark blue checkered jacket and dark blue shoes.

D’Artagnan had chosen dark blue jeans, a white dress shirt with black cuffs, a sportive black jacket and shiny black shoes. Although it was night, he had a pair of sunglasses pushed up on his head. Show-off, Constance thought, but she found it difficult not to keep staring at her boyfriend. The bodyguards stayed close to the ladies. In such a crowd it was too easy to lose sight of one another.

Soon they were involved in animated discussions and enjoying themselves more than they had expected. Suddenly, everybody flinched when a high-pitched cry could be heard…..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Hsg, Sigmund and DebbieF for their comments: D


	19. The Suite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time, it will get a little bit more quiet and calm without much scene changing. We will have a lot of history and feelings. How do you like it? Tell me in the comments.   
> [Villa Guise](https://pin.it/mqxpac233ltpca)

The sun was just setting, painting the large villa a beautiful orange yellow. The gardeners were putting their tools into the pickup and getting ready to leave the grounds. The servant, who was usually to be found at his master’s side, now stood at the front door, waiting for the guest soon to arrive. The master of the house himself was in the living room, enjoying a glass of brandy after dinner with his children. One after the other, black limousines arrived and men in business suits stepped out. The servant directed them to the living room.

“Guise, you summoned all of us here. I had important obligations,” one of the newcomers complained, once the men were all assembled in the living room. Guise was still sitting in his armchair and hadn’t even greeted his guests. He was staring into the fire, contemplating his next move. His son had come to the meeting as well and now spoke for his father.

“Nicollier, what are you doing here? You should be in Monaco, making sure that things don’t go completely belly up over there.”

Nicollier wanted to voice his outrage, when Guise got up and refilled his empty glass. “Enough. We have more important matters to discuss. Nicollier, maybe you can still be of help. Soulier, report what you told me,” he said, turning to Soulier. The man had meekly hidden in the darkest corner of the living room, now he had the attention of everyone in the room.

“Please, my friend, don’t be shy. You can share your ignominy with Nicollier,” Guise said, rubbing salt into the wound.

“As you know, Feron was supposed to interest Louis in a business deal with the perfume distillery in Grasse. I have invested a considerable sum myself, but the distillery isn’t doing too well any more. We were only able to keep it afloat with cheap labor from Third World countries. I have already managed to recover my investment with interest out of the company assets. We thought it would be a good way to weaken Louis, if we could get him to invest there himself.”

“Let me guess, the plan did not work,” Nicollier interrupted him, already certain how the story would end. Soulier nodded, lowering his eyes to the floor in shame.

“Yes, he found out everything. Well, not *everything*, but enough for him to think it impossible to continue working for us. He took away our workers and the plant will have to close,” Soulier finished his report. Mourlon and Nicollier were hearing it for the first time and Michele did not have all the details. Guise was the only one who had already known about it and made arrangements accordingly. This meeting was just intended to shame Soulier in front of the other men.

“Louis is a better business man than we thought, Father,” Michele said.

“I think, Anne, his cousin, is much more of a danger than we originally thought. Together with her assistant they uncovered our process and wanted to play goody-two-shoes. I assume she felt pity for the workers. At the end, she just presented her plan to Louis and he let her influence him. If it weren’t for her, the thing in Monte Carlo “ here he threw a look at Nicollier, “would have worked, and Louis would have made the deal in Grasse as well.”

Guise was slowly swirling the brandy around in his glass, contemplating what had been said. For a long time, silence reigned in the living room. The servant came in, placed a plate with pastries on the small table between the chairs and left again.

When the door had closed behind him, Guise finally shared his thoughts with the others. “We have underestimated Anne. We won’t make that mistake again in the future,” he said, giving each of the men a disapproving look and receiving nods in return. “However, Louis is also a thread. He’s not as easily influenced as we had all thought. As Feron promised us.”

“We have to talk to Feron, remind him who is giving the orders around here,” Michele said hotheadedly. Usually, his father didn’t hold with rash actions, but in this case he agreed with his son. “You will talk to Feron and make him understand exactly what his mission is and what will happen, if he doesn’t accomplish it,” he ordered. Michele nodded, glad to be fully integrated into the family business.

“Are they still in Grasse?” Nicollier asked.

“I think so. At least I didn’t hear anything about it when I left to come here,” Soulier answered.

“We should scare them off. They’re making things worse for us here on the coast,” Mourlon put in. Until now he had silently followed the conversation.

“We lured them away from Paris specifically so that we could go ahead with our plan there,” Michele argued.

“Yes, son, but as Mourlon as rightly said, you can see that it’s not working. They should go back to Paris. Mourlon, take care of it,” Guise decided. Mourlon nodded. Finally, it would be his turn.

“And what about Paris?” Michele was the only one still daring to ask a question. Guise nodded. “I will have to talk to our partner there.”

That concluded the meeting. Guise retreated to his office and Michele went back to his own house to arrange for a meeting with Feron. Soulier had to clean up the mess in Grasse and Nicollier wanted to keep things running in Monte Carlo. Only Mourlon got into his car with a smile on his face. Finally, his time had come.

*******************************

A scream could be heard on the yacht. Porthos and Treville were immediately with the king to protect him. Porthos had his hand on the weapon in his holster, while Treville scanned the surroundings. D’Artagnan, Aramis and Athos formed a circle around the ladies, so that they could cover all sides. However, the situation cleared up very quickly. Laughter could be heard and the music started to play again. Slowly, the bodyguards relaxed as well. Anne and Jeany looked around questioningly.

“Up there, on the upper deck,” D’Artagnan explained, pointing at the deck above them. “Someone doused a woman with champagne, that’s why she screamed.” Now the ladies could relax as well. The other guests, who had been just as alarmed, recovered their festive mood, drank some alcohol and partied on.

Anne and Constance went over to the railing, followed by Aramis and D’Artagnan. Athos took the opportunity to ask Jeany for a dance. She hesitated at first, then she took his hand and he led her to the dance floor.

“I really missed evenings like this,” Jeany whispered, when they were dancing cheek to cheek to a slow song.

“Where someone screams, startling all of us?” Athos asked, looking at her critically.

“No, not that. The time with you, and with the girls. It was very lonely in Fontainebleau without you. Although I could have done without your wife,” Jeany explained, glancing to the side, where Milady was standing close to Louis.

Athos noticed her look and sighed. “Ex-wife. I hope this will all be over soon. And she won’t annoy you any more, I promise.” Topic closed, as far as he was concerned. However, Jeany still had a lot of questions, but she knew that this was not the right moment. She and Athos just enjoyed their time together.

Anne and Aramis had decided to give Constance and D’Artagnan some privacy and left them alone at the bow of the yacht. Anne wanted to get something to drink and Aramis stood a short distance away, watching the crowd. On duty he could not drink anything alcoholic, so Anne was just about to order an orange juice for him, when a man shamelessly rested a hand on her lower back. Almost too low to be decent. Anne wanted to swat the offending hand away, when she noticed that it belonged to a businessman from Madrid, with whom she had been at university together.

“Ah, Pablo, how nice to see you,” she greeted him charmingly, although she felt quite differently.

“Anne, still a beauty, I see.” He grinned smugly. She had always hated that smile.

“How are you?” he asked, trying to strike up a conversation. Anne was getting more and more impatient waiting for her drinks, but the bartender seemed to take his time about them.

“Good. I’m working as CFO for my cousin. A company in Paris, with business all over Europe,” she answered curtly and tried to evade his touch. He immediately reacted by pulling her even closer against him. She could already feel his disgusting breath on her cheek, when she was suddenly freed from his grip and pulled back against a warm, solid chest.

“Excuse me, Monsieur, I have to ask you to stop harassing Madame,” she heard a deep voice behind her. She looked up and saw Aramis. His usually open, loving face had turned into a frightening mask of anger. She knew, that he would never hurt her, but she wasn’t sure if Pablo would get out of this situation unscathed. Pablo, however, seemed oblivious to the danger and kept provoking Aramis.

“You are mistaken, I just had an animated discussion with Mademoiselle,” he said, reaching for Anne’s arm. In a split second, Aramis batted his arm away with so much force, that Pablo squeaked in pain and pulled his arm back against his chest as quickly as possible.

“*You* are mistaken. Madame does not care for your advances and it would be best if you left the yacht now,” Aramis said through clenched teeth. Although Anne felt safe with Aramis, she realized that Pablo was facing a man who was capable of killing him and she wasn’t sure if Aramis was only threatening him. Paolo seemed to have come to the same conclusion and realized that he had lost this fight. He squeezed past the other guests and left the yacht as quickly as possible. Anne was beautiful and desirable, but he didn’t want to go up against a man like that for her.

Once Aramis realized that the danger had passed, he let go of Anne and put a little distance between them. Anne immediately missed his warmth and looked at him questioningly, but then she realized that they should not show too much tenderness in public. “Thanks,” she said simply. Aramis just grinned at her. His face was once again the one Anne knew and loved. The mask he had been wearing a few seconds ago was gone completely and a part of herself wondered if that had been the soldier in him.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Everyone had come back from the party safe and sound, if a little hungover in some cases. On the next morning, they all awoke to the sound of loud voices in the hallway. Aramis, who had spent the night with Anne, immediately threw on trousers and a shirt, and went to find out what had happened. In the hallway he met D’Artagnan and Athos. Athos frowned when he saw just which room his friend had come out of in that disheveled condition, but refrained from commenting on it.

“What is going on here?” D’Artagnan asked. Apart from them, two policemen, the concierge and some of the housekeeping staff were standing around in the hallway. Porthos came over to them. Apparently, he had been on guard duty in front of Louis’s suite, which wasn’t all that far from the rooms of the others.

Porthos went over to one of the chambermaids. “Bonjour. Can you tell me what happened here?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s so terrible. There was a man lying in the suite,” she said, trembling.

“A man?” Porthos wondered what was so terrible about that. The police wouldn’t come for something like that. Or had it been a break-in? Before he could ask, two men came down the hallway with a stretcher and a black body bag, and disappeared into the room.

Now, Porthos and the others knew what had happened. They exchanged nods, and without another question for the chambermaid, Porthos went back to Louis. Aramis and D’Artagnan went back into their rooms. Jeany came up to the door, where Athos was still standing, and handed him his jacket and his gun, knowing that he had to work. He kissed her goodbye before he left and Jeany closed the door.

Athos went to Treville’s room and knocked. It took a little longer than usual for the door to open. Treville had the morning off, but an emergency changed every plan.

“Athos? Did something happen?” Treville asked, rubbing his eyes. His second-in-command nodded, and Treville moved aside to let him enter.

“There was a murder, on the floor where Anne’s and Louis’ suites are. They’re just taking away the body. It wasn’t found too long ago.”

Treville groaned. A murder was the last thing they needed right now. However, it was no use crying over spilt milk, they had to react quickly and professionally now.

“We can’t change the hotel again at such short notice, so we’ll have to put everyone on high alert. Double the guards for Anne and Louis. Cordon off the hallway, with access restricted to people, whose rooms are on that floor. And check the hotel staff that comes in contact with Louis.”

Treville was fully awake now and went into the bathroom to get dressed, without interrupting the flow of orders. “I will speak with Anne, and we have to inform Louis. The best thing would be to change hotels by this evening. The risk is just too great.”

Treville came out of the bathroom again and Athos nodded.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Athos quickly informed the others. Porthos would assign the guards, and D’Artagnan and Aramis would take care of the protection detail and the upcoming hotel change. Treville wanted to inform Louis as quickly as possible. A murder in the vicinity of the king should not have been possible. Not with the current level of security. He had to make Louis understand, that staying here was just too dangerous. Once Athos had informed the others, he joined Treville in support.

“Sire…” Treville started, but Louis interrupted him immediately.

“Treville, what was all that noise in the hallway? I could hardly sleep.”

“Pardon, but I have to inform you that a murder has been committed in the suite three doors down the hall. The police were here gathering evidence.”

“A murder?” Louis was shocked. “In which suite?” he asked.

Treville didn’t quite understand the question. “Sire?”

“The suite, which one was it. Treville, answer me!” Louis was completely beside himself by now. At the first shock, he had sat down, now he jumped up and paced wildly around the room.

“It was the Dior Suite, Monsieur,” Athos answered the question. Treville was still confused, what was so important about which suite the murder had occurred in. Louis was getting angry and threw a glass at Treville. Thanks to his quick reflexes, Treville managed to evade the missile.

“Treville, it was the Dior Suite!” Louis took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “We had booked the Dior Suite, but Milady and I found it too small, so we changed. Porthos has been kind enough to organize it for us and now we are sleeping in the Rivera Suite.”

Now Treville understood Louis’ reaction. He nodded to Athos, who had realized the problem as well.

“We will take care of it. Arrangements for the move to another hotel are already under way, Sire,” LouTreville tried to reassure him. Louis, however, retreated to the next room, presumably to calm down. Athos and Treville decided to give him a few minutes.

Meanwhile, the door opened and Feron came in. “Louis?” he called out.

“Here, Feron, here,” Louis answered weakly. Immediately, Feron joined his brother. “I looked for you everywhere. I was told that you were still in Grasse, but then I learned from the hotel there, that you had moved on to Cannes.”

Louis nodded silently. Feron sat down beside Louis. Athos and Treville, who were both still in the outer room, found it hard to follow the conversation through the almost completely closed door.

Feron and Louis had taken seats in the sitting room. “Then I saw that a murder has been committed. Here, last night. I was in the lobby, fearing the worst,” Feron continued the conversation.

Louis nodded again. “We had changed our reservation. We were actually booked into that suite, but we changed to this one,” he explained to his brother.

“For God’s sake, you don’t think that this was supposed to be an attack on you, which only went wrong because you weren’t there after all?”

So far, Louis hadn’t thought about it like that. Now that Feron described it in so much detail, it sounded more than plausible to him.

Athos and Treville, on the other hand, had thought about it, but decided to concentrate on security first. Eliminating the threat was the second point on the agenda. At least that had been their plan.

“You mean I was the intended target?” Louis asked again, just to be sure.

Treville wanted to join the conversation, but thought it better to just listen.

“Without any doubt. From what you told me, you would have been lying in the bed the dead man was found in.”

Louis nodded.

“You were the intended target.”

“We should leave immediately, we will have to cancel going to the film festival.” Louis just wanted to get away as quickly as possible.

Feron, however, was against that plan. “Louis, we have to find the root cause. Your life is in danger, so you need better security.”

Athos didn’t like the direction this conversation was taking.

“You are right, my security should have prevented that,” Louis said, going back to Treville and Athos in the other room. He looked Treville in the eyes, but Treville just returned the look.

“Treville, how could that have happened?”

“Sire, you were protected in every second. Two guards were stationed outside the door. No one could get in from the outside or through the windows. You were safe.,” Treville tried to reassure Louis and calm him down.

However, Feron’s words had already poisoned Louis’ mind too much to believe the facts of his security chief. “Treville, it would have been me. I can’t depend on you. First the situation with Marmion and now the murder here. No. I don’t need you any longer.”

Athos was shocked. Treville just stood there, trying to defend himself. “Sire, Marmion did escape, that’s true, but he doesn’t present a danger for you.”

“You don’t know that. Nobody knows that. No, you had your chances.” Louis considered the matter closed. Treville realized that it didn’t make sense to argue any longer. “Sire, I will leave today. With your permission, I will bring Athos up to speed on the necessary measures, before I return to Fontainebleau.” Louis just nodded.

For Feron, that was not good enough. “With your permission, dear brother, I would like to lend you my own chief of security. He has never betrayed me and always protected me. I am very worried about you and I would like to know you safe in his hands,” he argued, trying to convince Louis.

“That is very considerate of you and I appreciated your offer, but I think Athos will do a good job. And it’s true, I have been safe, thanks to my bodyguards. At Fontainebleau and in Paris we call them the Musketeers,” Louis said proudly.

Feron was unimpressed. “Well, they are ‘Musketeers’,” he said, derisively, “who have been trained by Treville. You can’t trust them too far.”

Louis looked at Athos, who calmly returned the gaze, just like Treville had done earlier. Louis wasn’t convinced.

“You are right, maybe my security team could work together with your security chief.”

That was at least a partial victory for Feron, and he immediately took it. “Very good, a wise decision. I will have him come to Cannes immediately.”

Louis nodded and went back to the sitting room. Feron, apparently making a phone call, went outside, rather roughly bumping into Treville’s shoulder on the way.

Now Treville and Athos were alone again. “You can’t just leave. You know exactly who Feron is going to send us,” Athos said, trying to stop Treville.

“The king has lost his trust in my, I have to accept that. He hasn’t lost his trust in all of you. Please make use of that, I implore you. Don’t be against Grimaud, just work against him. Athos, I have the utmost trust in you, but I will only be on your way. I will retreat and trust you to get this situation under control again.”

Athos was not exactly convinced. “And you? Are you really going back to Fontainebleau?” he asked.

Treville nodded. “Yes, I think I can be of more use to you there than here.” Their conversation ended and they both left Louis’ suite. Outside in the hallway, they encountered Feron.

“Yes, Grimaud, you will now provide security for my brother. For the time being, you will have to work together with Athos and the others,” they heard him say, the “but” almost audible between the lines. It was only a matter of time, before the rest of the security team would be removed from Louis’ influence as well.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Treville left the hotel an hour later. He had handed over the most important information, documents and authorizations to Athos and went back to Paris as requested. Before Athos informed the whole security team, which was sure to cause resentment and unrest in the ranks, he told his closest friends and colleagues. D’Artagnan, Porthos and Aramis came to Athos’ room.

“What’s going on?” D’Artagnan asked impatiently.

“We have informed Louis about the murder. He reacted very stressed out about it. He argued, that the murder has taken place in the Dior Suite, where he was supposed to sleep.”

“That’s right, I spoke with the concierge myself and arranged for Louis and Milady to move into the Rivera Suite instead. What has gotten him so riled up, when it wasn’t his suite?” Porthos said.

“Yes, but that means that he could have been the intended target,” Aramis said, once again the first to understand the whole situation.

Athos nodded. “That’s what made Louis so angry. It was that close.”

“That close for what?” Porthos asked.

“Feron put a flea in his ear, that Treville was to blame for it and was unable to provide security for Louis any longer. Louis believed it and fired Treville, who went back to Paris already.”

No one said a word. For all of them, Treville was more than just their boss. He was their captain. Even in the roughest sea, he was always at their side, shouting orders and making sure they found a way around all dangers. He had recruited all of them himself and they couldn’t remember a time at the chateau without his presence. Now they were in uncharted waters and that worried them more than they were willing to admit. Athos, who felt the same, nevertheless tried to give them courage. “I tried to stop him, but he convinced me that his continued presence would only cause more problems. And he is right. Louis still trusts us and we should do everything we can to keep it that way.”

They others all nodded. They were still obligated to Louis and would continue to protect him.

“The first thing we should do is investigate the murder,” D’Artagnan suggested.

“We’re not in Fontainebleau, that’s usually a job for the police,” Porthos argued.

“I know, but I think that’s the only way to find out if he really was the intended target and if he’s still in danger. I know, he’s the king, but there are a number of other lucrative targets here in Cannes.”

D’Artagnan was right. The film festival in two days’ time drew everybody to Cannes.

“Okay, we’ll keep a low profile investigating the murder. We’ll help the local police, without their knowledge, of course,” Athos summarized their plan. Porthos rubbed his hands in anticipation. Finally an assignment after his own heart.

“What are we going to do about Treville? We can’t just accept that he’s been fired,” Aramis said.

“No, he’ll just lay low for a while. Once we can prove that Louis was not the target after all, Louis will change his mind again in that matter,” Athos said.

“And if not?” D’Artagnan asked.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Athos didn’t have a plan for that himself, but he knew that wild speculation and hasty plans wouldn’t help them at this point. The others got to their feet, ready to get to work.

“One more thing,” Athos said, stopping them. “Grimaud is coming, he’s supposed to support us and from now on, he will be responsible for Louis’ protection.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to LadyNeve and Sigmund for the comments and thanks to the guest for the kudos :D


	20. The Police station

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the big delay. I had holidays and then I was one week sick. So, I wasn’t really in the mood to post a chapter, to write or even go in the internet. I also having not a blockade but more of a little down thing for this story. I will try to end it. Don’t know, maybe in the next week it will get better.  
> Here are the Outfits:   
> [Anne Outfit](https://pin.it/f6quzaqcxm3ym2)  
> [D'artagnan outfit](https://pin.it/qrq6dee4vopjhq)  
> [Elodie Outfit](https://pin.it/qrq6dee4vopjhq)  
> And a ground plan of the police station:   
> [Police Station](https://pin.it/z5dstajfzpaprb)

Anne walked down the long hallway to Louis‘ suite. She had recovered from the early morning shock, and had breakfast with Constance, now she was looking for her cousin. In front of his door she took a second to straighten her skirt. For today she had decided on a silk skirt that shimmered in ice-blue and greyish brown and had a cloth belt tied to a bow, a cream colored top and matching pumps. The bracelet on her right arm resembled a leafy vine.

She knocked twice and waited. When she didn’t receive an answer, she entered and looked for Louis. She had expected him to greet her at the door, but found him in the sitting room.

“There you are,” she greeted him, immediately noticing his subdued mood. He sat in an armchair, morosely stirring his coffee and didn’t appear to notice her. “Louis?” she tried again. Now he raised his head and looked at her. “Ah, Anne. Nice to see you,” he said and kept stirring his coffee. Anne sat down beside him and poured herself some coffee.

Once she had taken a refreshing sip, she looked around questioningly. Milady apparently wasn’t around, which probably explained Louis’ mood.

Louis noticed that Anne was looking for something, or rather someone. “She’s down at the beach, bathing.”

Anne nodded. “Did you have an argument?” she asked carefully.

Louis gave her a shocked look. “No, why should I argue with her? She loves me.” He didn’t know what Anne was getting at. Before she could speculate any further, he asked,” did you hear about the murder?”

Anne nodded. “Yes, the commotion in the hallway woke us up. It seemed to have alarmed everyone.”

Louis sighed. “I was the intended target.”

That was unexpected. “Louis, why do you think you should have been the target? We’re not in Paris or Fontainebleau here. There are much better targets.”

Louis felt that his honor had been slighted. “I am an important businessman. Paris belongs to me, no, the whole North of France belongs to me, and soon the South as well. Of course I am the best target!” he said belligerently.

Anne tried a different approach. “And why were you the target? The murder didn’t happen in your suite. Just because all our rooms are on the same floor? It might just as well have been me.”

Louis became impatient. Why couldn’t she understand? “No, I was the target. Don’t you see, I should have been in that suite, but we moved into a different one at short notice. That’s why they missed me,” he tried to explain.

That sounded at least logical to Anne, even though she had a hard time believing that everything centered around Louis. After all, the hotel housed many noble, rich and famous guests, especially now with the film festival. “Louis, even if you were supposed to be the target, we have a security team, which will protect you. There’s a guard outside your door every night and our every step is guarded. Treville will see to your safety,” she tried to reassure him.

“No, Treville is no longer responsible for that. I fired him and he has already gone back to Fontainebleau,” Louis stated simply.

“But how?”

“I don’t have to justify my decisions to you. You are only responsible for matters of finance,” Louis put his foot down, in a voice so cold and unfeeling that Anne felt slightly affronted at his arrogance. In the last few days she had protected him from money laundering and human trafficking, as well as investing in a company with slave-like working conditions, after all. But unfortunately that was the risk of working with Louis. However, she couldn’t understand why he had fired Treville. The man was an important member of Louis’ staff and also someone Anne trusted personally. And she knew from Aramis, that Treville had an iron grip on security.

“Louis, I understand that and of course the final decision is yours, but…” she tried again, but Louis interrupted her immediately.

“No, thank you Anne, that’s enough for today. I don’t want to talk about it any longer. We should both have a quiet day today, the festival in two days’ time will be demanding enough. No more business for today,” he requested and rose to take his leave.

Anne stayed back disappointed, since she had wanted to discuss a few important business matters. After all, the stock exchange and the competition didn’t simply take a day off. She got to her feet and left the suite. For a moment, she contemplated going back to her own suite, then she changed her mind and knocked on a different room. Quickly the door was opened and she looked into a loving face.

“Anne? Did something happen?” Aramis asked. Anne pushed past him into the safe haven of his room. Aramis took a quick look into the hallway to check if anyone saw them, and then closed the door and turned around to Anne.

“No, I just needed to see you,” she apologized and went over to him to embrace him and feel his warmth. Aramis returned the embrace, of course, and pressed her against his chest.

“Louis has fired Treville,” she whispered.

“I know, he has already left and handed command over to Athos.” Aramis could see how much Treville’s layoff affected Anne, so he kept the information, that Grimaud would be working with them now, to himself. She was alarmed enough already and he didn’t want to unsettle her any further. Especially since he had no idea what that fact would mean for all of them.

“It’s not fair. Treville and you four, we saved everything. First in Monte Carlo, then in Grasse.  And now that, because of a ridiculous murder. It’s grotesque. And Louis can’t even be sure he really was the intended target.” Anne just didn’t understand.

Aramis, who had been a soldier for the longest time, knew the helplessness of the situation and just accepted it. Of course, he wanted to have Treville back, but he knew that they couldn’t change it here and now. Anne, on the other hand, had never been in such a situation and felt lost and unsure. Aramis gave her comfort and safety, just what she needed right now.

“We’ll get him back,” she said, sounding more decisive. In Aramis’ arms she felt confident and knew that everything was possible. Aramis stayed silent, not wanting to give her false hope, since he and the others had no idea, how things would play out. In any case, they were prepared, at least he hoped so.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Porthos intended to ask the hotel staff. Maybe they knew something or had a tip for him. He had to at least try it. At first, he had waited in the hallway and whenever someone from housekeeping or room service had shown up, he had tried talking to them. However, since they were very busy and didn’t have the time, he couldn’t learn anything. Someone, who was assigned to that floor, had to have seen something concerning the murder, but apparently this was the wrong way to get information. He had to change his strategy. He went down to the lobby, hoping a short break and a cup of coffee would help him to come up with an alternative plan. Usually, this was a job for one of the others. He could make tactical plans during a mission, but information gathering was the job of Aramis and D’Artagnan. Treville knew that and would have taken it into account. But without Treville, resources were no longer focused. Athos tried to fill the gap and did everything in his power, but Treville just couldn’t be replaced, and his friend knew that. He took another sip of his coffee and sighed. Suddenly, he found new hope when he saw who was just stepping through the entrance door.

His heart lightened, when he saw Elodie coming into the hotel. Immediately, he stood up and walked towards her.

“Elodie?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.

Elodie savored his embrace, snuggling against his chest. “Hello,” she greeted him.

“What are you doing here? Is something wrong with the baby?” Porthos asked, worried.

Elodie was wearing a light jersey dress with small dark blue and white stripes, a slightly faded denim jacket and white sneakers and a dark blue shopper as a handbag. “No, no. She’s with a friend of mine. I have a job interview here and my friend is watching her,” she explained.

“A job interview? I hope you’re just looking for a better job and haven’t been laid off.”

“Yes, I heard the pay here is better, although the working hours are still not exactly the best for the baby.”

Porthos nodded and led her over to the bar, where he had left his coffee a few minutes before.

“So, you’re in Cannes now?”

Porthos nodded. “Yes. Louis is a vagabond and all I can do is follow him.” Porthos looked morosely into his coffee cup and completely forgot to order something for Elodie. She noticed, that something was wrong.

“What’s going on?” she asked, getting right to the point. Porthos looked at her. She really could read him like a book and she had come at the right moment. Porthos had an idea.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but I really need your help. And it might give you a chance to get to know your prospective colleagues a little better.”

“What do you mean, my colleagues, and exactly what do you want to ask of me?” For Elodie he spoke in riddles.

“Sorry, I forgot to tell you. There has been a murder here.”

“A murder?” Elodie looked shocked.

“Yes, on the floor where all of our rooms are. The police are already investigating, but….” He didn’t say anything more.

“…but you would like to do some investigating yourself, because you want to know how a murder could have happened right under your noses.” Once again, Elodie understood more than he had given her credit for. He really should trust her more and tell her everything.

“Yes, I had hoped that one of the waiters or someone from housekeeping might know something and would be able to help us. You know, people never tell the police everything.”

Elodie nodded. “Yes, better not to say something than to get in trouble for it later. So, did you find out something?” she asked.

“No, unfortunately not. They never had enough time and I couldn’t speak to them in private,” Porthos admitted.

“Where did you try it?”

“I thought, the best place to catch the people who work there would be the hallway where it happened.”

Elodie nodded. In theory not a bad idea, but if they were working, they wouldn’t have a lot of time to talk. “Did you try the break rooms?”

Porthos grinned at her and Elodie realized, why he wanted her to help. “You want me to ask around there and that way I would get to know my future colleagues, provided I get the job.” She thought about it critically.

“I understand if you say no and I don’t want to drag you into anything…” Porthos started. It had been a stupid idea, he realized.

“No, no, I will do it. Just wait here for me. It’s a good idea to get some information beforehand anyway and I still have a little time before my interview.”

Before Porthos could argue, she was already on her way. Porthos wondered, how she knew where the break rooms were, but maybe every hotel had a similar set up as far as that was concerned, so he went back to the bar.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

D’Artagnan went to the police precinct, together with Nathan and Henry, while Athos informed the rest of the security team about Treville’s departure. Not an easy task, but the three men in the car did not have an easy job either. They wanted to gather information from the local police in Cannes. D’Artagnan had recruited Henry and Nathan for help; Henry to provide extra manpower and Nathan to deal with the technical side. Not exactly his dream team, but the others had their own crosses to bear. Now that Treville had gone back to Fontainebleau, everybody had to chip in.

Henry was dutifully looking at the building schematics Nathan had called up for him on his laptop, while D’Artagnan concentrated on the road. During the drive D’Artagnan’s thoughts wandered to Treville and what he owed him. The man had gotten him out of the special unit, after he had been injured during a mission gone bad, giving D’Artagnan time to recuperate and gather new hope and strength. Treville had helped him through a bad time, and he had stayed calm and objective when he learned about Constance as well.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Constance was still at D’Artagnan’s bedside at the hospital. His condition was improving daily. Treville entered the hospital room, intending to visit his youngest protégé. Constance and D’Artagnan, who had just been kissing, sprang apart. Treville didn’t say anything and kept his expression neutral. Constance realized that Treville wanted to speak to her beloved alone, and left the room. Once she had closed the door behind her, Treville pulled up a chair and sat down beside D’Artagnan’s bed. D’Artagnan pulled up as much as his injuries allowed, and leaned back against the pillow, so that they could talk eye to eye._

_“I suspected something was going on for some time already and when you were put into the ambulance, I was sure,” Treville began._

_“I wanted to tell you. I know, I’m not supposed to….” D’Artagnan tried to explain the situation._

_“You’re not supposed to do what? Follow your heart?” Treville shook his head. “I can’t really condone what you’re doing, but I can’t deny your feelings either. And as long as it doesn’t influence her job, and more importantly your job and doesn’t prevent both of you from doing your duty, there’s nothing I can do against it.” He noticed that D’Artagnan was more than surprised by this development._

_“It wasn’t right to keep it a secret from me, and I thought we trusted each other,”_

_“We do,” D’Artagnan interrupted his boss._

_“But I can understand that at first you didn’t want to make it known, and I respect that. Now, however, I expect you to make your relationship public. I don’t think that the king would mind, if it interests him at all, and I believe Anne won’t object either, but I have to insist that you will still do your duty to the king and his family with the same diligence and devotion as before,” Treville said, giving him a searching look._

_D’Artagnan nodded. “Of course, Captain. It won’t impair my judgement and it will only strengthen my ……..to be able to serve the family of the king,” he said in a firm voice._

_“I expected nothing less from you.”_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ever since then, D’Artagnan had admired Treville. The man was an exceptional commander, who had always led them with wisdom and strength. He missed him and his counsel, although the man had only left a short time ago. D’Artagnan didn’t want to imagine how things would be with Grimaud in the picture. All the more important for them to get information on the murder. D’Artagnan parked the car in an empty spot close to the precinct and turned around to Henry and Nathan. “You both know what you are supposed to do? Let’s go over it again,” he said, wanting to leave nothing to chance. Better to go over the details again.

“Nathan has downloaded the floor plan for us,” D’Artagnan started. Nathan opened the file, and they all took a look at it. “The entrance room has a long reception desk, where a policewoman is stationed, who coordinates the patrol teams, greets new arrivals and distributes them to the right places. The door to the right leads to the tracking station, where officers take complaints, statements and reports. Behind that is the access to the cell row and the interrogation rooms.

The door on the left leads to a public area, where victims, witnesses and other persons can wait without drawing attention. This area also has vending machines for snacks and drinks, and a couple of chairs. From this room, one door leads to the forensic science lab, and another one leads to the offices of the higher-ranking officers. The office of the chief can only be accessed through this room,” D’Artagnan explained, giving them all a complete overview of the building’s layout. Everyone knew what he had to do. Nathan quickly set up a camera loop, so they would be able to act without being detected. They each grabbed their gear and got out of the car.

On their way to the precinct entrance they split up, so no one could notice that they were together.

D’Artagnan went in first. He had decided on a casual outfit consisting of a black v-neck t-shirt, khaki bermudas and matching shoes, basecap and watch. Black aviator glasses were tucked into the neck of the t-shirt. He went over to the desk and distracted the police woman on duty there. His charm worked wonders and she seemed to be all but smitten with him.

A few minutes later, Henry came in, went right past her without her really noticing him and entered the tracking station, where a number of officers were busy taking statements and complaints and dealt with people who wanted to press charges. He looked around, appearing a little lost. A younger police officer approached him. “Monsieur, can I help you?”

“Oh, yes, please. The nice lady at reception directed me here. I want to press charges against a driver.”

“Did she give you the necessary form?” the officer asked, leading Henry over to a table, apparently his desk.

“No, she seemed to be busy, she just pointed to the door and told me to go in, someone here would help me,” Henry fibbed.

“That sounds like Michelle. Okay, let’s skip the red tape. Just tell me what happened and then we can get down all the necessary details,” the young officer said kindly. Henry nodded, glad that his ruse worked. The officer took a seat at his desk and started typing. Henry took a seat beside the desk and unobtrusively took the blackbox out of this bag and held it underneath the table. Nathan had configured the blackbox in such a way that it simply downloaded all data from a nearby storage device, like a computer. All it needed was for the computer to be active and unlocked. Since the officer had to use his computer to take down Henry’s statement, this was the perfect opportunity for the blackbox to download the data.

While Henry had his talk with the officer and D’Artagnan kept the receptionist distracted, Nathan went through the left door into the public area, which was pretty easy, since there was a lot of through traffic in the entrance room, so Henry and Nathan went unnoticed.

In contrast to Henry, Nathan kept a low profile. He got a drink from one of the vending machines and took a seat. He switched on his ever-present laptop and hacked into the wi-fi network of the station.

“It should be a crime to have so little security for their wi-fi,” he muttered to himself. The armchair he had chosen was close enough to the detectives’ offices so that the wi-fi signal was strong enough for him to download the information to his harddrive. Unfortunately, he didn’t find any forensics information, so he had to get into the forensics lab as well. This could prove to be more difficult.

Henry had finished his statement and the officer wanted to take it to the commissioner’s office, leaving Henry alone for a few minutes. Since the other officers were all busy, Henry took the opportunity to slip through the door in the right-hand wall, which, according to the floor plan, led to the holding cells.

“Hey, you, what are you up to?” one of the prisoners called out to him. Henry startled for a moment, but quickly noticed that there was no immediate danger. He ignored the rather disheveled man and hurried over to a clipboard hanging on the wall opposite the door. He had to make use of what little time he had.

“Hey, Franz, the boy here, he’s not with the gang, is he?” Slowly, but surely, the man in the cell was making problems for Henry, now that he had involved the man in the adjacent cell as well. They mustn’t become any louder or someone would come to investigate and find Henry in an area he should have no access to. Quickly, Henry took the clipboard and photographed the pages, which also showed the interrogation dates.

“Hey, man, I don’t think you can take pictures of that.”

Henry put the clipboard back on the wall and turned around to the troublemaker.

“And I think you want to stay in that cell forever, because if they let you go and you breathe a word of this, I will shut your mouth permanently,” Henry said, giving the man a menacing stare that even Porthos would have envied. He went back through the door to the tracking station and sat down in his chair again. A few seconds later, the police officer came back. “Okay, Monsieur, the matter will be investigated in the next days,” he said. Henry shook his hand and went back outside. D’Artagnan, who had said goodby to the woman behind the reception desk some time ago, was waiting for him in the car.

Nathan, who had finished the download, eyed the door to the forensic science lab. He couldn’t get in there, no matter what he tried, at least not right now. The door was kept closed and it took a dedicated chip card to open it. With the laptop camera he managed to unobtrusively take a picture showing the door, the card reader and even a card. Luckily, he had caught a moment where someone had actually used their card for access. Nathan packed up his laptop and headed back outside. He had almost reached the door leading out of the building, when the woman behind the reception desk called out to him. “Excuse me….”


End file.
